Baker Who Lived in a Shoe
by Fairytailfanatic247
Summary: Ava's the baker of Storybrooke. What connections does she really have to the Enchanted Forest and all of the people in it. Read to find out. Starts out as an Archie/OC, and eventually becomes a Mr. Gold (Rumplestiltskin)/OC.
1. Pilot

**A/N: So, I really like Once Upon a Time. I just got into it, but I do not own any of it. Sadly I am a store manager, and I might not be able to update regularly, but I really like my original character, and I hope you will too. Ava, my OC, is mine, and like I stated before i only own her and her story line. I do not own the story line of OUAT or it's characters. I might be altering some things, though. Hope you read and enjoy.**

Closing up at the end of the night is one of my favorite parts of my job. Yes, I own the Drury Lane Bakery, but I love going home and sleeping so I can get to the second best part of my job. I love opening in the morning, and baking sweets and treats for the citizens of Storybrooke to enjoy. It had always been my dream, and thanks to the very generous loan from Mr. Gold I was able to open it. My bakery has been open for many years and I am happy to say that I have paid back the Loan that Mr. Gold. The only thing that I have to pay is rent so I am able to stay in this spot on the main street.

As I am locking up, basket of leftovers on my arm, I see a new car come down the street. The yellow VW Bug stops suddenly and a tall blonde woman gets out of the driver's side and slams the door shut. Then a familiar little boy gets out of the passenger side and walks over to the strange woman. I can't hear what they are talking about, but I start to walk over. As I get closer I notice Dr. Archie Hopper walking his adorable Dalmatian, and heading towards Henry and the woman.

"Henry, What are you doin' here?" The kind doctor asked.

"Is everything alright?" I added. We both stood in front of them and wondered who this strange woman was, and why Henry was with her.

"I'm fine Archie, Ava." Henry went to go pet Pongo, and that reminded me of something that I had been saving. I pulled out a treat for Pongo that I had made this morning. I handed it to Henry so he could give it to the beautiful Dalmatian. He smiled at me as Archie started to talk to the stranger.

"Who's this?"

"Just someone trying to give him a ride home." She did not seem pleased to be here so late at night. I don't know where she came from, but I do not blame her one bit.

"She's my mom Archie." What? What did he say? I shared a concerned glance with Dr. Hopper.

"Oh. I see." We said at the same time. The woman seemed super uncomfortable. It was cold outside, but not enough for her to be trying to maintain body heat, by crossing her arms over her body, when she had a nice leather coat on.

"Either of you know where he lives?"

"Yeah, sure." We said

"Just right up on Mufflin Street." Archie explained.

"The Mayor's house is the biggest one on the block." I expended. Her expression seemed to morph into one of surprise, mouth slightly agape.

"You're the Mayor's kid?" Henry looked at the wet asphalt under his feet.

"Uh..maybe." Henry avoided eye contact with everyone in front of him.

"Hey, where were you today? You missed your session." I heard from Archie earlier that the young boy had missed his appointment, and he had gotten quite worried. I calmed him down with a free cupcake, and some comforting words.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. I went on a field trip." It is a partial truth. His eyes still not meeting anyone else's. Archie kneeled in front of him.

"Henry, what did I tell you about lying?" Henry didn't answer him, so Archie continued. "Giving into one's dark side never accomplishes anything." I looked at the blonde woman, and her brow furrowed in confusion.

"Oookay. Well, I really should be getting him home."

"Yeah, sure, well listen. Have a good night, and ah you be good Henry." The woman gave Archie a fake smile as he walked away. Then she turned to me.

"Like I said, I have to get him home." She said. Wow, so much attitude.

"It's okay Emma, she's a friend." Henry smiled at me.

"Since you didn't make it to your appointment with Dr. Hopper, you didn't get to come to the bakery after for a treat." His smile grew with anticipation. "No, you may not have your treat now. It is too late in the night, and your mother would not like me so much." His face fell. "I'll tell you what. After your next session I'll give you double what you usually get." As his face brightened up I turned my attention to this 'Emma' person. "Thank you for bringing him back. He is quite the troublemaker sometimes."

"No problem." I turned away to walk towards home. I heard a little of the conversation between Emma and Henry. "So that's your shrink? And you're friend the baker?"

"I'm not crazy, and Ava gives me free cupcakes. They are so good." I smile at that, and I finally get too far away to hear them. Once I get home to my apartment I lock up, change into my nightclothes, and head off to dreamland after setting my alarm for five in the morning. I have to get to the shop to make the pastries for breakfast time. Plus, I have to get some over to Granny's for her to sell.

Waking up from a dreamless sleep to the harsh sounds of my alarm is normal to me. Sometimes I even wake up a little before my alarm goes off. I turn it off quickly as to not wake Mary Margaret, my neighbor. I get out of bed, take a shower, get dressed, brush my hair and teeth, and lock my door on the way out. Running down the stairs, skipping stairs on the way. Speed walking down the street as I put my, blue-green dyed, hair up in a high ponytail. I am the only one on the street because it was so early in the morning.

Finally getting to the bakery I unlock the door and head inside, not flipping the closed sign to open yet. I put my apron on and start mixing ingredients to make the dough that a good amount of my product is made from. First I make bagels, donuts, muffins, and English muffins. Once those are done it is about 6:30. Quick, I know, right? I am not called the best baker in town for no reason. I package up the product to bring them to Granny for her to sell.

As I balance the boxes of morning bakery items I try to close and lock the door as I usually do. The door was not closing all the way. As I struggle with the door I start to lose the balance of the boxes. One final harsh tug on the door finally closes it, but the boxes start to tip and fall out of my grip.

"No, no, no, no." I can't stop them, so all I can do is watch as my hard work falls to the ground, but they do not actually hit the ground. Something does happen to hit the ground, and when I look to the ground I see a cane. The very cane of he one and only pawn shop owner. "Mr. Gold!" I look up, and he has caught the boxes that were about to fall.

"Door giving you trouble, dearie?" I just look at him, mouth hung open, eyes wide. I quickly snap out of it, shaking my head.

"Well, it doesn't usually give me much trouble, but today I guess it didn't want to close." I just stared at him. I then realize that he is still holding my boxes. "Oh, let me take those from you." He hands me the boxes and once again I balance them in my arms. "Sorry to trouble you, Mr. Gold, and thank you so much for saving my baked goods."

"It's really no trouble. I was just passing by, and saw that you were having trouble. I can get someone to come look at the door if you'd like." I paused to think about it.

"I don't want to trouble you. I can deal with it for now. Thank you, though." He shook his head as he picked up his cane.

"I insist. We don't want you having another incident like this one, now do we?" The corners of my mouth turned up, and a smile broke out across my face. With all the bad rap that Mr. Gold gets, he sure is nice to me. "I'll have someone over later today. Have a nice day, Ava."

"Yeah, You too." Mr. Gold walks past me to his shop, and I hurry to Granny's to give her the product. "Hey Granny, sorry I'm late. I almost dropped everything on the ground." She looked at me concerned.

"What happened?"

"Oh, just the door giving me trouble again." I said as I put the boxes down on the counter.

"That is no good. You should have someone take a look at that for you." She looks at the pastries and starts counting out some money.

"Well, Mr. Gold actually saw my struggle and said he would send someone over to look at it today." Granny gave me the money for the product, and she looked at me with concern.

"Be careful with him, Ava. You know how he is. Always looking for a deal in his favor."

"I know, I know. I'll be careful." I smiled at her and walked out of the diner. On my way back to the bakery I see Dr. Hopper and Mary Margaret. I say good morning, and smile at them as I pass by. I make it to my shop, open the door, flip the closed sign to open, and I get back to baking.

Later that day, around two o'clock, I closed up shop. Sure, it is really early, but I am the owner of the shop and I am the only worker in my bakery. I deserve a break now and then. As I start walking towards granny's to get a bite to eat I see the Emma woman speed walking down the street. She looked in a hurry, and she looked as if she were trying to find something. When she spotted me, she ran right up to me.

"Hey, you're Henry's friend, right?" I just looked at her with concern.

"Yeah, I guess he would say that. What' wrong?" She was breathing a bit heavily.

"He disappeared again. He didn't make it to school, and Mary Margaret said to check his castle." Realization hit me and I smiled. "Do you know where his castle is?"

"Yes I do. I am actually on break. I can bring you to him. Just let me grab something real quick." I go back into the bakery and grab one of the cupcakes from the display case. I bag it up and show Emma to the castle after locking up the shop. I bring her down to the edge of the water where the old wooden castle playground. Emma walked up onto the castle with the Once Upon A Time storybook as I followed. She sat down next to him.

"You left this in my car." She said as she handed the book back to Henry. He took the book, not saying anything to her. I found that that was a good time for me to step in.

"I brought you a cupcake to make up for the one you missed yesterday." He looked up at me as he took the bag with the cupcake inside.

"I thought you were going to give me double the next time I had a session?" Smart kid.

"I thought that you could use it today, and having two at once is a little much." He took the cupcake out and started to eat it as Emma continued to talk to him.

"Clock still hasn't moved, huh?" Ah, the clock that has not moved for as long as I can remember.

"I was hoping that when I brought you back, things would change here. That the final battle would begin." What battle? This isn't medieval times.

"I'm not fighting any battles, Kid."

"Yes, you are. You're here because it's your destiny. You're going to bring back the happy endings." Oh Henry, still believing that everyone is a story book character.

"Can you cut it with the book crap?"

"Watch it with the language. He's only ten years old." What a great mother she would be.

"Sorry. Geeze."

"You don't have to be hostile. I know you like me. I can tell. You're just pushing me away because I make you feel guilty." Wow, the truth is spoken. "It's okay, I know why you gave me away. You wanted to give me my best chance." Emma looked like a weight had been sort of lifted. She let out a deep breath, but her eyes looked sad.

"How do you know that?"

"It's the same reason why Snow White gave you away."

"Listen to me kid. I am not in any book. I'm a real person, and I'm no savior. You were right about one thing, though. I wanted you to have your best chance, but it's not with me." This is super akward for me, so I try to break the tension.

"Come on, let's go. Your mom is worried about you." I say. Emma gets off the castle and starts walking towards town. Henry and I go to get down another way.

"Please don't take me back there. Just stay with me for one week. That's all I ask. One week and you will see I'm not crazy."

"I have to get you back to your mom, and Ava has to get back to work." She looked at me pleading for help. I shook my head. I wasn't going to help her. Henry was almost in tears at this point.

"You don't know what it's like with her. My life sucks." I wouldn't say his life is that bad, but I don't live with them. I don't really know anything that goes on in the Mayor's house.

"Oh, you want to know what sucking is? Being left, abandoned, on the side of the freeway. My parents didn't even bother to drop me off at a hospital. I ended up in the foster system, and I had a family until I was three, but then they had their own kid, so they sent me back." This is really not something I should be listening to, but I can't really get out of the situation right now. Thinking about Emma's story, and thinking about how I would feel if I was in her place made my eyes start to tear up. Then I thought about my own family. I used to have the largest family, but now it is just me. By the time I turned twenty-eight I was the only one left. There was always a hidden illness that Dr. Whale hadn't seen, or a deadly car accident. Then I was left alone to take care of myself. "Look, your mom is trying her best. I know it's hard, and I know sometimes you think she doesn't love you, but at least she wants you."

"Your parents didn't leave you on the side of the freeway, that's just where you came through."

"What?"

"The wardrobe. When you went through the wardrobe you appeared in the street. Your parents were trying to save you from the curse." His answer must have been somewhat comforting to Emma because a smile appeared through her tears.

"Sure they were. Come on, Henry" With that, the three of us walked back into town. I couldn't go all the way to the Mayor's house with them, but I took the bag and cupcake wrapper from the fully eaten treat so Henry's mother wouldn't catch him with it. I made my way back to the shop and found Mr. Gold and Marco standing by my door. I had totally forgotten that Mr. Gold was going to get the door looked at.

"Hello, Mr. Gold, Marco. Sorry, I was just on break."

"No worries, Miss Ava." Marco replied. "Mr. Gold here told me of your door trouble this morning, and I am happy to help out." He is such a sweet old man. I unlocked the door and went inside, leaving it open for Marco to look at it. I turn on the lights, tie my hair up, and put my apron on before continuing my baking. I hadn't known that Mr. Gold had come in and sat down at one of the few tables that I had set up in the front of the shop until I started putting finished products in the display case.

"Ah, are you waiting for fresh pastries, Mr. Gold?" He smiles as he gets up from his seat.

"Well, yes and no. I would love to get one of your famous cupcakes to go, please. Also, it is rental payment day." Was it that day already? Well, I always put the money aside the moment I have enough for the rent.

"Is it that day already? Let me go fetch it real quick." I go back to my safe in the back and pull out the envelope with the rent money. I go back up front, and hand him the envelope. I get the usual flavor of cupcake Mr. Gold gets and bag it up for him. "There you go. Rent for the shop and rent for my apartment."

"Thank you, dearie. Marco said that it just had something to do with moisture, from the rain yesterday, expanding the wood. It shouldn't happen tomorrow, but be careful next time it rains."

"Thank you so much Mr. Gold." I said as I escorted him to the front door with a smile.

"There is no need for you to thank me, Ava." My expression turned into one of shock.

"But there is, you had Marco look at my door, and you are one of the best patrons. Plus, I can never thank you enough for helping me start my bakery." A smile appeared on my face once again as we made it out onto the street.

"Well, it was my pleasure. I'll see you around." He started walking towards his next tenant to collect rent. I took a deep breath and went back to work." The rest of the day was fairly uneventful, and I went home after closing up shop. After getting ready for bed I went to the window, where my alarm clock rested. I was looking outside towards the clock tower for a moment, and the minute hand of the clock moved. How did that happen? My thoughts are brought back to what Henry was saying, about how he thought that bringing Emma into town would break some curse. Part of that curse was that the clock tower was frozen, or was it that time in the town was frozen? Whichever it was, I knew Henry would be very happy that the clock tower was working once again. I finally set my alarm clock and drift into another dreamless sleep, at least that is what I thought would happen.

 **A/N: I hope you like it. In the next chapter you will understand why Mr. Gold is so nice to Ava. Please leave a review. I can't wait to hear what you think of my story.**


	2. First Meeting

**A/N: Yay! Second chapter already. I'm on a roll, and most of it is of my own creative mind. I hope you enjoy.**

"Welcome to the Drury Lane Bakery." I yell over the noise of the crowd. Part of my job is to greet everyone as they come into the door. Do you know how hard it is to do that in a busy bakery, where I also have to handle all the transactions? I feel like I am split into two people sometimes. As the line of customers continues I notice something out of the corner of my eye, a small hand getting grabby with the breads at the end of the display. I turn to the customer I am serving in front of me. "Excuse me one second, please." I turn around to my boss. I call him the Muffin Man. "Hey, we got a sticky fingers. I'm going after them." He takes my place and starts doing the transactions as I run outside to catch the thief.

As I reach the street I see a boy running down the street. I give chase. He turns to see if someone is after him to see me. He turns back around and runs faster. It's a good thing I have some stamina. He runs all the way out of town to a small hut on the main road out of town. He runs inside, and I stop running to catch my breath. "Give it back, kid." I say between breaths. "You didn't pay for it." I guess I am in worse shape than I thought, as I sit down on the ground then lay back still trying to catch my breath. Finally, I hear someone come out of the shack, but I am too tired to sit up.

"Bae, go on, give it back." A male's voice says, the boy's father? I finally lift my head to see the boy coming closer with the bread in his hand. Behind him I see an older man. Finally, I catch my breath enough to sit up. I put my hand out for the bread. The boy, Bae, places it in my hand and goes back towards his father. "Go inside, Bae." Then the man limps his way over to me and offers his hand. I take it and he helps me stand up.

"Thank you." He smiles at me then his face drops a little.

"I am truly sorry for my son. He was only trying to help." I knew what that felt like. Having so many brothers and sisters, that we are barely able to fit in our own house, I understood wanting to help out. I am the oldest child, and the only one with a steady job. I looked around at my surroundings. There was a lot of open space, the hut, and a well.

"No trouble." I started to walk away with the bread, but I realized that if he could afford to pay for this one loaf of bread, he would have. I turn around quick and walk back to the man. "Listen, at the end of the day we have a ton of leftovers. I bring a bunch home, and there is still some left over. If you come by then, I can give you what's left."

"Why? Why would you offer that to us?" I understood his questioning of my kindness. Not many people just gave people things in this town.

"I have over twenty brothers and sisters I have to provide for. I know how hard it is. The leftovers I bring home are the only food we have." I see no woman around their shelter, so it must just be the two of them. He just stands there looking at me. "Well, if you do decide you want some of the left over bread, come by around dusk. That is usually when my boss leaves me to close up shop." I turn around and head towards town.

Dusk had finally arrived and the Muffin Man left me to close up. I bagged up most of the left over bread and pastries for me to take home. The rest I put in a smaller bag. I hope the boy and his father come by. I pick up both bags and head out the door. I put the bags down outside so I can lock up the shop, and I hear some shuffling behind me. With the door to the shop locked I turn around to see Bae and his father.

"So, you decided to come by after all." I smiled at them, and they smiled back.

"Yes, well, you made an offer that we couldn't refuse." My smile grew, and I picked up the smaller bag. Bae took it, and threw it over his shoulder to carry it easily. I go to pick up my bag of leftovers and start to walk towards home. "Thank you, miss. What is your name?" I stop and turn around.

"My name is Ava. Similar queen Eva, but not quite." I giggled a bit at my almost namesake. "What is your name?" I had a feeling I already knew who he was. I had heard stories of a man who had run away from battle. They called him a coward, but over the years people had forgotten his name.

"Rumpelstiltskin, at your service." He took as much of a bow as he could with him being a little crippled and having a staff to help him walk. "And this is Baelfire, my son." I smiled at both of them and tried to curtsy

"Well, I should be going. My family is expecting me back soon." I go to turn away, but remember something that I wanted to say. "If you need more in the future, I always close up the shop. Just meet me here at dusk like today and I'll have something for you."

"Thank you, Ava." That is when we went our separate ways. The next few days I didn't see Baelfire or Rumpelstiltskin, but that is not what got me down. There was a war going on in the kingdom, and they were taking almost every of age, able bodied, person to fight in this war. I heard that recruits almost never made it back. The day after I met Bae and Rumpelstiltskin I came home to most of my brothers had been taken as recruits. The only ones that were not taken were those that were not of age. Then they took my sisters. The only reason they had not taken me was because the Muffin Man told the soldiers that he needed me to run his very successful bakery. Sadness overtook me, and my work suffered. I no longer greeted everyone that came in, and I had no energy to do anything.

One night after I closed up I just sat outside the locked up door to the bakery. I didn't want to go home. I thought about my brothers that I would probably never see again. As I stared at my hands, which rested on my lap, I saw water drops fall onto them. I reached up to my face to wipe the rivers falling from my eyes.

"A pretty girl such as yourself shouldn't be crying. What is wrong, Ava?" A familiar voice I had not heard in days. I looked up at Rumpelstiltskin, just letting the tears continue to fall. Bae was not with him this time. He came over, and sat himself next to me.

"They took them, my brothers and sisters were taken to fight." I started to cry harder and I brought my hands to my face again. "Now, I'll never see them again." I said between sobs. "Even my sixteen year old sister was taken. They lowered the age of recruits." I glanced up at Rumpelstiltskin. A look of worry etched onto his face. "The house is so empty and quiet now. Only six of us remain in the house, including my mother and me. Mother is ill with grief, and she is only getting worse." I brought my knees up to my chest so I could curl up into a ball. "I don't know what to do." He tried to comfort me as he rubbed my back. "I just want this all to be over. I cannot do it anymore. Maybe my next life will be better than this one."

"Don't say that. You have a lot of people depending on you here." Was he really that concerned about me? I only met him once. "Your mother and young siblings are expecting you to be there for them in this time of grief. You are lucky your boss vouched for you to stay."

"I almost wish I had to go. Maybe I would be dead by now."

"NO! You can't give up, Ava. You have to stay strong in these situations. How old is the oldest sibling in your house now?" I had to think about it.

"My sister, Morain, turns fourteen next month." It would be a while until they took her, but it scared me. What if they lowered the recruiting age again? "The rest are my brothers and they are all under the age of ten."

"Then spend all the time you can with her and them. That is all you can do with the kingdom how it is." He stands up and offers his hand to me, like the first time I met him. I took his hand and he helped me up. "You have to get up, brush yourself off, and do not take anything for granted." For the first time, since I met him and his son, I smiled. I wiped the tears from my face and took a deep breath. I needed those comforting words. I needed to hear it from someone who could be in the same situation as I am.

"How old is Baelfire?" I was just curious.

"He turns fourteen in about a month as well." My eyes brightened a little as an idea came to me.

"My sister has no one to play with in town. Maybe her and Baelfire could spend some time together." He smiled at me and put a hand on my shoulder.

"That sounds like a great idea. I think Bae is getting a little bored just being around me." My smile grew.

"Does tomorrow sound good? I can bring her to your place before I go to work, and I can pick her up after." He nods as he steps back. "Great, Oh, I did pack you some leftovers today. Just in case." I pulled out a small bag with breads and pastries to give to him that he took.

"Thank you. I guess I will see you in the morning. I look forward to meeting your sister." We smiled at each other as we went our separate ways.

The next day a friendship started between Baelfire and Morain. They started to play together everyday. But, every good thing seems to bring about bad things. A week after the two became friends mother passed away in her sleep. I told the Muffin Man about what happened, and he offered to move my three remaining siblings and me into his house. He had never gotten married, and he had a big enough house for all of us. I graciously took his offer.

Today was supposed to be a happy day, but it ended with my heart breaking. Today was Morain's birthday. She was turning fourteen hardly recruiting age. I asked my boss, and savior, if I could spend the day celebrating the happy occasion with my siblings. He granted my wish, and he even celebrated with us. Baelfire was invited to the festivities as well. After Morain received her gifts everything went wrong. We heard the stampede of hooves from a mile away. They were coming to take yet another child for recruitment. The ominous sound got louder and louder until it suddenly stopped. We were all sitting at the table quietly. Then there was a loud banging on the door.

"No." I whispered to myself. I turned to my boss. "She's only fourteen. They can't take her. They can't." He stood up, and walked to his front door. He opened it, expecting to talk to the soldiers, but the busted in heading straight towards my sister. I tried to get between Morain and them, but they pushed me out of the way. "NO! YOU CAN'T TAKE HER!" They were not taking no for an answer, and they grabbed my sister anyway. Baelfire ran out, to let his father know what was happening. They walked through town with my sister as my boss, me and my two young brothers followed. We got to the edge of town where their horses were. My boss had grown connected to me and my family, so he was not happy about them taking Morain.

"No, please, please." He begged them.

"No!" I just kept saying that. I could not except that they were doing this. Taking yet another of my siblings. "Don't take her! You can't take her! She's my baby sister, don't take her, please." The head soldier finally turned his attention to me.

"Nonsense, she's a fine, strong girl. She'll make a fine soldier." How can he say that with a straight face?

"It's a mistake, she's turning fourteen, only fourteen." My boss tried to explain.

"Orders of the Duke, the Ogre wars have taken their toll this season." As the soldier was talking more people of the town gathered around. "More troops will turn the tide."

"They lowered the age again, Papa." I heard from my left. I tried to keep a hold on my sister, but they were too strong.

"Take her," They tugged her out of my grasp. "She'll ride with me." The Muffin Man pulled me back. He didn't want me getting hurt, but I can't just let them take her. As they put her on that horrid man's horse, I pull out a dagger that I had started to carry around.

"You can't have her!" Even if I failed, I couldn't just let them take her away from me. I tried to charge him, but before I could reach him an unimaginable pain hit me. It was like nothing I had ever felt before. It hurt so much I couldn't breath. What was happening?

"The Dark One seems to think I can." So this was The Dark One. I ended up dropping to the ground and the pain stopped. I tried to catch my breath. My boss was in the same predicament, and my brothers were checking if we were okay. Once I was able to catch my breath all I could do was cry. A piece of me was taken, and I would never get it back.

"Get up, dearie. There's nothing you an do now." His voice would be comforting, but the world seemed dimmer.

"What's the point? Their just going to take everyone I love, and every time they do I am going to die a little more inside." Bae would probably be next. He was turning fourteen in three days. How can he be so calm?

"Everything will be okay, Ava. I promise you."

"Don't make promises you can't keep." I just looked at him tears still rolling down my face.

"That is sound advice, but I promise you anyway." Again he stands up and offers me his hand.

"This is the third time you have helped me back on my feet, Rumpelstiltskin." I say as I grab his hand and he helps me to stand. "How am I ever going to repay you?" He smiles and shakes his head.

"There is no need. You have helped me and Bae so much I believe I still owe you." How can he say that?

"That's not possible." Then I wanted to know what he was going to do if they took Bae. "How many days until you think they'll come for Bae?" His expression dropped.

"I don't know." I put my hand on his shoulder to try and show him that he wasn't alone in his worry. The boy was like another brother. Then my vision started to get blurry, and a very annoying high-pitched bell ringing. What is that? What is that noise? Finally my vision clears and it isn't the Enchanted Forest or the village. It's my small room in Storybrooke. I must have been dreaming. But, it felt so real, like it had actually happened to me. The noise was till annoying me, so I got out of bed, went to my alarm clock, and stopped the ringing. Maybe I should talk to Dr. Hopper when I get a chance. I never have dreams. To suddenly dream so vividly was nerve-racking. And there was that guy that looked an awful lot like Mr. Gold. What could that mean? Well, I can't dwell on it too much. I have to get ready, and get to baking. I can't leave the town without it's baked goods, now can I?

 **A/N: I hope you liked it. I would really like to hear what you guys think of it. I can't wait to hear from you.**


	3. The Thing You Love Most

**A/N: Chapter 3! This is the best I have done with a story in a long time.**

Ah, the fresh air of a new day fills my lungs as I head over to Granny's with more pastries. On the way, Pongo almost trips me. I really try hard not to be a klutz, but it is so hard when he wraps his leash around my ankles. I feel a hand steady me so I don't fall.

"I am so sorry, Ava. I don't know what's gotten into him today." I giggle and look around the boxes in my arms to smile at Archie.

"Oh, it's okay." Archie starts to unwrap the leash from around my legs. "Um, Archie, do you have any time slots open today?" he looked at me as he finished unwrapping my legs from Pongo's leash.

"I think I'm free around noon. Why, is everything okay?" I shrugged my shoulders.

"Yeah, I just wanted to talk about a dream I had last night." I looked down at Pongo. It looked like he was so much more energetic.

"Sure, we can talk about whatever you want." We continued to walk down the street together. "I look forward to noon-time." He is too cute sometimes. I can't wave with my hands full, so I speak instead.

"See you then, Dr. Hopper." As I start towards Granny's and notice that Mr. Gold is walking the same direction that I am. "Good Morning, Mr. Gold."

"Good Morning, Ava. Any trouble with the door today?" I smile at him and slightly shake my head.

"Nope. The door was on it's best behavior today." He seemed pleased at that.

"That's good. Well, I think we both have places to be, so I'll let you get going." He walked away before I could say anything, but I continued on my way to Granny's with a smile on my face. As I got closer, I could see Ruby putting a sign out front.

"Hey, Ruby. How's it going?" She just looked at me like she was miserable.

"Same old, same old. Here, let me take a few of those off you." When she took the top two boxes I could finally see her face. "Granny's waiting for you inside." She led the way into the diner so I could get paid for the pastries and breads.

"Good morning, Granny." She smiles at me.

"Good morning, dear." She checks out my product and gives me the money for all of it. I usually leave right after I get the money, but I wanted to mull over my dream a bit. The thing is I just sort of stood there like a statue. "Are you okay, Ava?" I looked up at them, and I smiled. I seem to be doing a lot of that today.

"Yeah, I think I'm gonna grab something to eat before I go." I grabbed a seat at the counter and looked at the menu. "I feel like treating myself today. You know, relax a little." They smiled back at me.

"Don't relax too much, you may lose those great baking skills." I turn around to see the Sherriff sitting in one of the booths with a coffee. "I don't know what I would do without your delicious cookies."

"Oh, I think you would manage, Graham." He smiled at me, and I smiled back. We were not extremely close, but close enough to be on a first name basis. "So, do you recommend anything made by the chef here?" I look at the menu and try to decide what I want to eat.

"Well, I hear that the waffles are good, but my favorite is the pancakes."

"Well, pancakes it is, then." I close the menu and get Ruby to come over. "I would love to try some pancakes." She smirked and took the menu.

"Sure thing." As Ruby walked away the bell for the door to the diner sounded. I looked over to see the new arrival. She comes up to the counter, sits a few chairs away from me, and starts to read a Storybrooke paper with her as the headliner. She looks to be upset by it, so I decide to speak up.

"Don't even worry about that. It's nothing compared to what was written about me forever ago." I glanced at her as she turned to me. "Mr. Gold gave me a very generous loan to open the bakery, and they thought that I was somehow tricking him into giving me the money." That was actually the best week of my life. "They even called me a gold digger, and everything else they could. It'll blow over."

"I'm not sure that's true." She said back to me.

"Not sure what's true? That it'll blow over? Don't be so hard on yourself. It will be forgotten by this time tomorrow." My pancakes finally arrived, and I asked for a cup of water to wash it down. A few minutes later Ruby came over with a cup of cocoa with whipped cream and cinnamon sprinkled on top. It was apparently from a 'admirer'. That is when Emma got up and went over to Graham. I however knew that Henry was the 'admirer'. I looked towards the booth closest to the door, and sure enough, there was Henry. I turned back to my plate and finished the last bite of pancake. I left some cash on the counter and waved goodbye to Granny and Ruby.

I did go back to the bakery to do a few things, but the closed sign was showing. I was doing some paperwork when I heard the bell over the door ring. I look up and see Dr. Hopper.

"Hey, Archie." He walked over to the front counter Pongo trying to get behind the counter. I go to a jar of dog treats that I have stock piled. "What brings you in?" I ask as I give the treat to Pongo. I know he knows what the 'closed' sign means, so he must not be here for cookies.

"Well, I was just walking Pongo, and wondered if you would like to walk with me. Maybe we could get to talking about your dreams." I looked at the clock. It was passed noon already.

"Wow, I guess I lost track of time." I put my paperwork away and grabbed my light jacket. "Let's go. I could use some exercise." We started walking around the town after I locked up the bakery. We walked in silence as I tried to decide where to start. Maybe I should start with the fact that Mr. Gold was in my dream, or should I start with my siblings and mother, or the bakery and Muffin Man. "I don't know where to start." He looked over to me.

"Well, What was the location of your dream? Was it many places, or just one?"

"It all took place in a small town. But, it looked more medieval than modern. The scenery was so vivid. The trees around the town were green, but not just one solid color. It was many shades of green and I could see every single leaf. It was the most beautiful sight when even a slight breeze shook the branches." In my dream I hadn't actually focused on the trees, so I have no idea why I would have such a connection with the sight of the trees blowing in the breeze.

"Alright, and who was in it, besides you of course." I knew this question was coming.

"I can remember every face from the town. I worked in a bakery, and my boss was the Muffin Man. That's what I called him anyway. Then there was my family. My mother, and my many siblings. They were sent to fight some battle against ogres of all things." I giggled a little. "Apparently, it was a death sentence to get recruited, and the age of recruitment kept getting lowered. Because my family kept getting recruited, my mother got sick from grief and died. The only other person that was important in my dream was this man who lived on the outskirts of town with his son."

"And why do you think he was an important person in your dream?" He seemed genuinely curious. I had been looking at my feet the whole time, and I continued to do so.

"Because, he looked like Mr. Gold." We made it to a bench in the park and sat down.

"Ah, that's why you're concerned. You think it's some sort of message to you about something." I nodded sitting back on the bench. I exhaled a breath I didn't know I was holding. "In your dream, this character that Mr. Gold played, what was the relationship that you had with him?" It seemed a bit complicated at times, but also very simple.

"We were friends, I guess. His son tried to steal from the bakery, and once I caught him his father apologized. I forgave the theft, and offered leftovers. Then he helped when I felt like my world was falling apart. I felt like it would be better if I just killed myself, and hoped that my next life would be a better one. He consoled me, told me that I had much to live for, and that I had people depending on me." When I said something about killing myself I felt Archie shifting a bit uncomfortably next to me. "Then my sister was taken from me for the war and I wanted to give up again, but he picked me up and gave me hope and reason to keep living."

"That seems a bit more that friendship, to me." My brow scrunched together as I looked at him. "It seems like he was more like family, or a support to your life."

"Well, do you think it means anything? Or do you think it is just my mind creating things?" I wanted, no, needed to know. It felt so real, like it actually happened.

"I believe, that because of the kindness that Mr. Gold has showed you over the years, you are trying to make sense of it. Of why he treats you differently. It is most likely just your imagination creating the story that you helped him out, and that is why he is helping you." Maybe that was what it meant, but I had a feeling at the pit of my soul that it was something that actually happened. But, it couldn't be. Ogres didn't exist, and I never lived in a place like that. "It is normal, in my opinion. Everyone else in town tried to figure out why he was treating you the way he was. Why wouldn't you question it, too? I wouldn't worry about it."

"Thanks Archie. I think talking to you did help a little." He stood up to continue his walk, but I remained on the bench.

"Some of what you said reminded me of similar things that Henry has told me. I can't tell you anything, you know doctor patient confidentiality, but I am sure if you asked him he would tell you what it means." Could he sense my reluctance to believe him? "If you're still worried about it." I smiled, but I felt that the rest of my face wasn't following.

"Thanks." He nodded to me and continued his walk with Pongo. I looked at all the trees in the park. They reminded me a little of the trees in my dreams. I just sat on that bench, watching the leaves blow in the slight breeze. It didn't feel right though, and I guess I was waiting for it to feel like I was in that dream again. "It's not the same." I whispered to myself.

"What's not the same, dearie?" Great, I liked Mr. Gold, but I didn't really feel like talking to him right now. He sat down next to me on the bench and started to look at the trees, too."

"I had a dream last night, and the trees seemed different." I know it sounds stupid, but how could I dream of trees so vividly when they look nothing like the trees around town. It just didn't make sense to me. "They seemed like a different species of tree that I don't remember seeing before." Maybe I'm over reacting. I haven't had a dream in years, and then this one just happened.

"Things in dreams are almost always different from reality. It's normal." I looked over at him, and noticed he was looking at me with concern.

"But, I heard that the things in your dreams are images stored in your subconscious. That reality feeds the dreams and imagination of the dreamer." I looked back at the trees. "How can I dream of something so vividly when I don't remember seeing anything like it in my whole life." I looked back at Mr. Gold. "It just doesn't make any sense to me. That's all." We sat there in silence. It was a comfortable silence, though. I could probably sit there all day, if I could. But, I needed to finish a bit of paperwork. I got up off the bench. "I have to go finish up some paperwork. It was nice speaking to you, Mr. Gold. I guess I'll see you around." I smiled and walked towards town and my bakery.

I end up finishing the paperwork around three, so I go back home to cook something for Mary Margaret and me to share. She liked a certain type of cookie, and they didn't sell well in the shop. So, I always make some special for her when I drop by for a visit. Once the cookies were done and cool enough to bring over I go next door and knock on the door.

"Who is it?" Her beautiful voice rang out.

"Special cookie delivery." I heard some shuffling on the other side of the door before it opened. She took the plate of cookies from my hands and opened the door wide to let me in. She put the plate on the counter and went to her fridge to get some milk. I closed the door behind me as I joined her at the counter. She filled two glasses with milk and put the carton back in the fridge. As we settled down to snack on the cookies I remembered something I heard while walking through town today. "So, I heard that Emma got herself in trouble and you bailed her out."

"Where did you hear that from?" She looked up at me while dipping a cookie in her glass of milk.

"Just around town. You know how people are."

"She supposedly stole Henry's file from Dr. Hopper's office." She took a bite out of her cookie and continued after she finished that bite. "I don't think she would just take it, though."

"How do you know she didn't?" Then I thought of something else. "Why would Archie lie about that?" She shook her head.

"I don't know. I just know that she didn't do it." She looked off into space. As we continued to eat the rest of the cookies I told her about the talk I had with Archie. And asked her if I was being silly about it. She was supportive, but she totally thought I was over reacting. We started laughing about some story about a kid in her class when a knock sounded on her door. She looked at me.

"What? It obviously isn't me." She smiled at me as she got up to answer the door. When she opened the door we saw Emma standing there.

"Hey. I just wanted to say thank you, and um," She held out an envelope to Mary Margaret. "Pay you back the bail money." She took the envelope from Emma as I walked up to them. A pause happened.

"Awkward moments are not my favorite. Can someone say something?" I say. That is when Emma starts shifting around almost like she needs to say something.

"You look like you need to talk." Mary Margaret piped up. I smiled when Emma started to come inside. I looked at the clock and realize that I have to get ready for bed.

"I got to go M&M. See you tomorrow." She turned to me and waved. I noticed that there were still cookies on the plate, but I didn't need it back right away. "I'll be back tomorrow to pick up my plate. Maybe you should see if Emma wants to try them." I go back to my place and get ready for bed, set my alarm, and I slip into hopefully another dream. Maybe I will get a clearer explanation of what my last dream was really about.

 **A/N: Hope you liked it. I would love to hear what you think about my story, and I welcome constructive criticism.**


	4. Flying

**A/N: So, this chapter explains who she was to Belle and how Belle is going to fit into the story. I still want Mr. Gold/Rumpelstiltskin to care for Belle. The inspiration for Ava's character in this is a French fairy tale called 'Blondine, Bonne-Biche, and Beau-Minon'. The parrot is only from a small section of that story. I hope you enjoy, and I would love to hear what you think.**

Flying. It's the single most exciting and calming thing in my life. The freedom of it, and the view above the tree line are exhilarating. But I am on a mission, and I must not get distracted. I flap my wings to gain speed as I head towards Sir Maurice's castle. There is someone I must see. I have tried to visit her, but was kept from her. I have finally found a way to get to her window. This window belongs to the child I gave up to Sir Maurice. I wanted to help him and his barren wife, but they do not even let me visit the child that I have birthed. Today is the day that I visit the child, and I will tell her the truth about her father and so called mother. I finally make it to the window and perch on the sill. The girl inside was sitting on the floor. Some toys are scattered in front of her, but she is staring off into nothing. She was thinking about something. I bring up my wing and hit it against the window lightly, and that got the girl's attention. She rose up from the ground, came to the window, and opened it. I flew in and landed on a stack of books by the bed.

"Hello, Belle. I know that you have no one to talk to, so I have come to chat with you." She just stared. Her name certainly fit. Her chocolate brown hair looked shiny and soft, and her eyes were similar in shape and color to mine. "But, I pray that you do not tell your parents that I have visited you. For your father would certainly have me killed." Her brow furrowed in confusion.

"Why would papa do that, beautiful parrot?" Yes, I am a parrot with blue-green plumage and an orange throat and breast. I was tricked into being the replacement for an enchantress. I was her caretaker, and when she died she transferred all of her magic to me. I can switch from parrot to human, but I cannot risk being seen in my true human form in front of Belle. A parrot is less of a threat than a strange woman in her room. "Papa would only do something like that to someone wicked."

"Please, you must listen to me. If you do not promise me this, I shall fly away and never return." My empty threat of leaving forever worked. Belle looked panicked because she was not allowed to talk to many people. I was the first to bypass her parents to talk to her.

"Please do not go. I promise to keep your visit a secret." She walked over towards me, and she sat on her bed next to the stack of books I rested on. "I wish to chat with you. I am not allowed to talk to many people, and you seem quite witty. I am sure you could amuse me." Her smile grew and brightened the room. She was so beautiful, and I wish I had been able to witness her as she grew. She was not even fifteen yet. I wanted to see her first steps, witness her first words, but I was not able to. She was taken from me right after she was born.

I told Belle stories of magic and the outside world. I told her that she was very beautiful and smart and that she could do anything she wished to put her heart and efforts into. I only stayed with her about an hour before I had to leave. I heard heavy footsteps coming down the hall, and they could not hear Belle talking to her. They would notice and come into the room to see whom she had been talking to. I flew out the open window after wishing her well, but I came back every day after that. We talked, and she asked me questions that I knew all the answers to. One day, I told her the truth, that her mother was not her real mother. She was shocked, but asked me if I knew her real mother. I told her I did, and that I would bring news of her the next day.

Finally, the day had come. I would tell Belle about her mother. I flew up to her window, like I usually did. She let me in, and she seemed more excited than usual. I flew to the stack of books and calmed myself before she came over to get information of her mother out of me.

"Is it true, beautiful Parrot? Did you bring news of my birth mother?" Belle sat on her bed ready to hear whatever I said. "What is she doing? How is she?" Now is my time. Now is my moment to really tell her the truth. I transformed into my human form, and Belle's eyes grew wide. I was dressed in a flowy, floor-length, yellow-orange dress. Over that I wore a floor-length, blue-green cloak with a hood. The inside of that cloak was a fur dyed to match my dress. I looked up at Belle and her smile grew. "Parrot, are you my mother?" What a smart girl. I didn't even need to say anything.

"Yes, Belle, I am your birth mother." She hopped off the bed and ran towards me. She wrapped her arms around my middle and squeezed so hard I almost couldn't breathe. Belle finally let go and stepped away to look at my face.

"If you are my birth mother then why am I here? Why am I in this castle, unable to visit with you?"

"Your father has higher standing than I do. There is nothing I could do to keep him from taking you." Her eyes got glassy, and I could see tears forming. "Don't cry." I wiped her tears from her face. "You do not know how much I have wanted to tell you, and take you away from here, from this prison." That is when confusion graced her face.

"This castle is not a prison. Papa, and the woman I thought to be my mother love me very much. They wouldn't do anything to harm me." My shoulders slumped. She had gotten too used to this place. That is when I knew she would never be able to just leave. "I know they love me, and I know that they have spent much money and effort to educate me. They wish to see me happy." Then, it looked as if she had gotten some sort of idea. Her smile returned. " If they only wish for my happiness, then they will allow you to live in the castle with us." She grabbed my hand and tried to pull me towards the door. "I shall show papa that you wish to spend time with me, and that I wish to spend time with you as well. Surely he would allow you to stay." No. This cannot happen. Maurice would surely have me executed for at least trespassing in his castle.

"Belle, you do not understand." I tugged my hand out of her grasp and she turned to look at me. "Do you remember the promise that you made to me the first time we met?" Her eyes grew glassy again. "Your papa would kill me if he knew I was here. You would never see me again." Belle looked to the ground, then looked back up to me.

"You must be mistaken. Papa wouldn't do that, and I can prove it to you." She ran out of her room to speak to her father about my visits. I cannot stay. I turn towards the window and turn back to my parrot form. Before I leave I pluck a feather from my tail and leave it under her pillow. This is my last goodbye. I can no longer visit her, and she must face this world without me. But, I will get her back one-day. Just as I fly out the open window guards burst into the room. They had planned to take me into custody and let me die in prison. I am sure of it. I fly back to my small home on the edge of a local town. No one knows who I am, and I plan to keep it that way. I get there and turn back to my human self. I try to get to my bed, but I collapse and sob into the straw covered floor. I have just lost my truly last blood relative. I am alone once again, and it seems as if I will be forever.

Then I realize that I know someone that may be able to help me. I have not seen him in years, but I must find him. He is the only chance for me to get Belle back. Rumpelstiltskin is my only way to have a happy ending with my daughter. This new found hope gave me the energy to turn back to my parrot form and fly to the castle that only one lived in. I flew to the front door and pecked at it. I am sure he thought it strange that the knock was so light. He might not have even heard it, but I knew he would, being the Dark One. I heard steps getting closer to the door, but the door never opened.

"Well now, that's different. A parrot knock, knock, knocking on my door." He had appeared behind me. I turn to him as he gets closer and crouches down. As he continued to look at me I could see pity suddenly flash in his eyes. "You look quite different from the last time I saw you, dearie." He held out his hand and I hopped up onto one of his fingers. "Let us go inside, my dear, I believe we have some catching up to do." He stood up straight with me still on his hand and walked inside. Once we got to the room where he spun his gold I flew from his hand and turned back into my human form. This is the most I have used this power in a long time, so I fall to the ground almost immediately. But, I do not fall all the way to the ground. Strong arms catch me before I hit the floor. He brings me over to a chair at the end of a long table and sets me down upon said chair. "Now, Ava, what has happened to you to be this way? What brings you to me, of all people?"

"He has taken her." I look up at him still breathing heavily. "Sir Maurice has taken my daughter, and I have been trying to get her back for years." I look down at my hands that rest in my lap. He crouches next to me and takes one of my hands in his. This made me look up at him. Sure, he had changed since the first time I had met him. His eyes were more intense, his limp was not as bad, and his skin was a dark golden hue. I can still see the man he used to be, though. The kindhearted man who has helped me onto my feet many times over. "I visited her in my parrot form, but I told her who I was today. She went and told Maurice that I had visited her and I was almost captured by his guards." I did not know I had been crying until he had brought his hand up to wipe the tears from my face. "Now, I fear I will never see her again." I did not want to show this weakness to him. I wanted him to believe that I was a stronger person than I once was. "She is all I have." Rumpelstiltskin stood up, letting go of my hand. He walked to the other end of the table with his hand on his chin. A smile crept onto his face.

"I know how to help, but I must not give you special treatment, dearie. You must give me something in return." I smiled, but my face fell once again.

"I have nothing I can give you, Rumpelstiltskin. I have nothing."

"That is not true at all. You can take care of this castle, clean it, organize the library, make my food, and fetch me straw for my spinning." I looked up at him. He was giving me a way to pay him for reuniting me with my daughter. "My plan will take a while, but your daughter will be with you. I think it will fit into my plans as well." I smiled at him and went to stand up, but my legs would not let me. "You can rest today, Ava. Tomorrow you may start your service to me." He came back over to my side and picked me up. He brought me down to the dungeon level. I was not looking forward to sleeping in a cell, but the accommodations looked no different than where I was living before. It was a straw covered floor with a small cot in the corner. He set me down on the cot. "I'm sorry, dearie, but,"

"You can't treat me any differently than anyone else. Do not think that I do not understand. This room is no different than where I was living before. It's fine." He turned away as I tried to sleep. I assumed he was leaving.

"I will bring down something for you to eat in a while." I opened one of my eyes to see him looking back at me.

"What makes you think I will be awake then? I am already drifting, so you should probably skip making me anything to eat." It was true. I had flown quite a distance to and then from the castle, and I had also flown to Rumpelstiltskin's castle and transformed quite a few times. I was completely drained.

"As you wish, my dear." He gave a bow before he left, and I fell into the deepest sleep.

The high-pitched ringing of my alarm clock jolted me awake. I never get used to the noise that wakes me, but I guess that is a good thing for an alarm clock. I shut it off, and continue on with my usual schedule for the day. But, I couldn't get the dream out of my head. I turned into a bird. The flying was fun, but the rest of it was so stressful. I don't really think I need to talk to Archie about every single dream I have, but I feel as though I need to talk to someone about it.

 **A/N: Thank you for reading. I hope you like this chapter. I know that the writing is a little sloppy, but it will get better in future chapters. Again, I would love to hear what you think of the story so far.**


	5. Snow Falls

**A/N: I have a little bit of a longer chapter for you today. If I have time to write another chapter today will. I hope you enjoy.**

A couple days went by, and there was nothing that happened out of the ordinary. I woke up from strange dreams, went to work, brought Granny breads and pastries, went back to work, closed up shop at my usual time, and went to bed. Today, though, on my way back to my apartment I saw Mary Margaret inside Granny's. But, she wasn't alone. Dr. Whale was with her. I got curious, so I stopped in to get something to eat. I went straight to the counter hoping Mary Margaret wouldn't see me. Ruby walked up to me with a menu, but I was starving and I already knew what I wanted.

"Just the burger and a soda." I said. She smiled at me and went to put the order into the back. When she came back to wipe down the counter in front of me I couldn't help but ask about my friend. "So, how long have they been here." They only had beverages in front of them, so I figured that they had already eaten. Ruby looked behind me at the two sitting at one of the small tables.

"Well, I would say a little over an hour, but I don't know if it is going to well for Dr. Whale. Mary Margaret keeps spacing out when he talks." Wow, she must really not be into him. She does space out a lot, though. Ruby sets down my soda and gets my burger and we continue to talk. We talk about a lot of things, like guys that Ruby is attracted to, and that she wants to have a girl's night soon. With my schedule, it is almost impossible to do that, but I do think it would be a great way for me to relax a little. As I started to eat my meal Ruby walked around the diner cleaning the tables and picking up the dirty dishes left on said tables. I start to listen into Mary Margaret and Dr. Whale's conversation.

"I mean, obviously I don't want fifteen kids of my own. I mean, not that I don't want kids, I do. I want kids, marriage, true love, I want it all. But, that of course is…" I hear Mary Margaret trail off. I take the last bite of my burger and slightly turn to see that Dr. Whale is staring at Ruby bending over a table to clean it.

"Ruby," I call to get her attention. "Could I get the check, please?" She comes over and helps me out. "I will also play for their meals as well." She looked at me like I was the craziest person in the room. I don't know, maybe I am. Then I hear Mary Margaret call Ruby over. She asks for the check, but Ruby tells her that I am paying for it. I put the money for both checks on the counter and get up to leave. I hear someone walk up to me, and I turn to see Mary Margaret.

"You didn't have to do that."

"Of course I did. I didn't want you paying for a date that went catastrophically wrong." I shoot a glare in Dr. Whale's direction. "Plus, he has done the same thing to me." She smiled at me and gave me a hug that I didn't know I needed. "Why don't you head out. I have to talk to Ruby about something real quick." She nodded and headed outside of the diner. When I knew she wasn't able to see me I went over to Dr. Whale. "You are such a sleezeball." I hiss into his ear. He turns to me, startled. "You don't deserve Mary Margaret, and if I hear that you have been even thinking anything bad about her, you will regret it."

"Is that a threat?" Oooh, I could just scratch his eyes out, right now.

"You tell me." I say as I head out of the diner to catch up with Mary Margaret. I look down the street to see her talking to Emma who is sitting in her yellow VW Bug. I walk up to them as Emma gets out of her car.

"This town doesn't seem to have any vacancies. None, actually. Is that normal?" I smile at that.

"Must be the curse." I say, joining the conversation. Emma smiles at me, and she leans against her car.

"Why are you two out so late?" Emma asks us. Mary Margaret and I look at each other, and I am the first to answer.

"I closed up the bakery later than usual, and then I stopped in at Granny's to get something to eat." Emma then turned to Mary Margaret.

"Well, I'm a teacher, not a nun." So defensive.

"She was on a date." I clarified. "It did not go very well."

"Tell me he at least paid." She asked us.

"Nope, I paid." Emma looked over at me jaw slacked with mouth open.

"Why would you do that?"

"Yeah, why would you do that, Ava?" Mary Margaret looked at me questioningly.

"Like I told YOU in the diner, M&M, I had to go through that with him, and I didn't want you to." I looked at Emma. "The dating pool in this town is not that big. I feel like I have been through everyone already."

"I guess if true love was easy, we'd all have it." Isn't that true. I looked around at the empty street. "You know, if things get cramped, I do have a spare room."

"Thanks, I'm not really the roommate type. It's just not my thing. I do better on my own." Way to push people away.

"Well, I got to wake up early, so I got to go." I turned to Mary Margaret asking with my eyes if she was coming with me.

"Yeah, goodnight. Good luck with Henry." I link my arm in hers and we head home. We split up at our doors and I get ready for bed, set my alarm clock and head into my dream world again.

The next day I am woken by my alarm clock. I get ready for the day, and I run to the bakery to bake the usual products for Granny's. Then, after delivering the baked goods to Granny I go back to my shop and bake some cookies to bring to the hospital for the kids. They are putting up decorations for the patients; I guess it's to cheer the patients up. I finish the cookies and head to the hospital after closing up the bakery. As I am walking to the hospital I run into Archie.

"Hey, Archie." I greet him. I look down at Pongo. He looks like he is expecting something from me. "Sorry Pongo, I don't have any treats on me right now." I look back up at Archie as he starts talking to me.

"Hello, Ava. Have anymore dreams you want to ask me about?" He is trying to joke around with me, so I humor him.

"I have been having more dreams similar to the one that I told you about, but I have chosen to accept them as what they are, dreams." He smiles at me as Pongo pulls on his leash. "It looks like he wants to keep walking."

"I guess so. Well, if you have any questions about any more of your dreams, just come visit me in my office. I'll be able to fit you in between appointments."

"Thanks. See ya later Archie." I turn to continue on my way to the hospital. I finally get to the hospital and a lot of the decorations are already up. Mary Margaret notices me and comes over to talk to me.

"Oh, good. The kids were wondering where the cookies were." She grabbed the box of cookies and set them up on the table for the kids to pick over.

"Sorry, I ran into Archie and we were just catching up a little bit. How is it going here?"

"It's good. We got a lot of the decorations up already." I smile at that, but something catches my eye. Henry is in the room with the John Doe coma patient. "You might want to go get Henry." She looked around the room and she spots him with John Doe as well.

"Thanks." She goes and talks to Henry as I slip out to go back to work. I wish I had stayed at the hospital a little longer, though. The rest of the day at the shop was boring. No one came in at all.

The next day started normally, and when I got to Granny's to drop off my usual delivery I saw Henry sitting in a booth with Emma and Mary Margaret. It sounded like Mary Margaret was talking about someone waking up. Was she talking about John Doe?

"We have to go back. You have to read to him again." Henry says

"Let's go." Mary Margaret says before getting out of the booth quickly with Henry trailing behind.

"Wait, wait, what?" Emma was very confused.

"If I got through to him, if we made a connection." Oh, M&M, looking for love in all the wrong places. I didn't hear the rest of what went on because Granny was talking to me about adding a few more things for tomorrow's order. After she paid me I turned around to see that Mary Margaret, Henry, and Emma were already gone. It was none of my business what they were doing, so I continued on my monotonous day. I wish my life were more exciting. My schedule was the same every day, and because of that I always felt drained. I always felt stuck, like I can never have a real life. I was just sitting at one of the tables in front of my counter, staring into space, when the bell on the door rang. The bell means that someone has come into the bakery, but I am so deep in space that I don't connect the sound with what it really means.

"A beautiful girl like you shouldn't look so somber." The sound of the voice snapped me back to the present, and I look at the person who has entered the shop.

"Mr. Gold." I stand up quickly. I get a little dizzy, but I am able to steady myself. "I'm sorry, it's been a bit slow these past couple days." I walk behind the counter.

"I'd say that is quite the understatement." I look up at him. "I tend to keep track of how many patrons you have every now and then." Some would say that is a bit creepy, but I think it's just so he knows that his investment is working.

"Yeah, well, Granny is starting to order a few more things for her usual delivery, so the decline in clientele won't be so bad for now. I'll still be able to pay rent on time. Is that why you came here? To see if I would be able to get enough money to pay you?" He shook his head as he started to speak.

"No, dearie, I'm not worried about the rent." My brow knits together.

"Then what brings you here today? I don't mean to be rude. It's just that you rarely come into the bakery."

"Well, I was wondering if you," That is when the bell on the door rung again. This is the most business I have gotten in the shop in a long time. I look up to see Archie and Pongo. I immediately go back to get a couple treats for Pongo. I come back and give said treats to the spoiled dog and smile up at Archie.

"Hello, Archie, what can I do for you?" He smiles back, but glances at Mr. Gold for a split second.

"I was going to ask you something, but it can wait. I think Mr. Gold was in the middle of asking you something." I look between the two men, and smile.

"Yes, how rude of me, sorry Mr. Gold what did you want to ask me?" I look at him. He looked a bit irritated and uncomfortable.

"I was just going to ask if I could get two of my usual, today." I have a feeling that was not what he had wanted to ask me, but I nod and get him double of his usual. Before I can ring him up he takes his pastries and puts money down on the counter. As I count the money I notice that he has over paid me.

"Mr. Gold, you forgot your change." He turns around to look at me as he holds open the door.

"Keep it, think of it as a contribution to my own cause, and a show of faith in your talents." I smile at that as he leaves my shop. I count the money again. He paid me double what he owed me. Why would he really do that?

"Wow, I've never seen him like that." I look back up at Archie, and smile.

"Well, I guess he does have a bit of a soft spot for me." I put the money in the register. "I still have yet to figure out why." I look up at him realizing he came in to ask me something. "Anyways, what is it you wanted to ask me Archie?" He took a deep breath, as though what he was going to ask took a great effort.

"Yes, I-I was going to ask you if you wanted to go to dinner with me tonight?" I just stared at him as he looked at the floor. I could feel the corners of my mouth pull up in the biggest smile I have had on my face in a while. I don't know why I never thought that Archie was a viable bachelor. Maybe it's because he works a lot.

"Sure, I'd love to." He smiled at me as he picked his head up. "When does your last appointment end?"

"Actually, I don't have any more appointments for today."

"If you are free, then we could always go on a walk before we go eat." I lock up some things really quick and I turn off the ovens. "Besides, You and Mr. Gold are the only ones who have been in my shop in the last couple days. It's not like I'll lose any business if I close up early." He smiled at that as I grabbed my coat. We are on the coast, and it could get a bit chilly especially at night. I close up the shop and we start walking to the park. We talk about a lot of things, but it is mostly his stories. I don't have a lot to tell him about myself. I have no interesting stories. I have no family to talk about, and the only real friend I have is Mary Margaret.

We walk to the park and sat at the bench that we sat in before. The bench where I told him about my first dream. I was tempted to tell him about my other dreams, but I didn't want to push them on him. If he wanted to know about them, then he could always ask.

"So, have you had any impactful dreams since we last spoke?" Does he really want to know?

"Yes, but like I said before I have accepted that they are just dreams, and they should stay that way."

"You did say that, but I like hearing about them. It's more like I like hearing you talk about them." I looked up at him. His cheeks were slightly flushed and he kept trying to readjust his glasses. "Your imagination is something to be envied."

"Archie, of course I will tell you of my dreams. I will start with the one I had the night after I told you about the first one." I told him the story of how I could turn into a parrot, and that I had a daughter named, Belle. We laughed about that. Just thinking that I would name my daughter after a fairy tale character was amusing to me. Then I told him about going to the character that Mr. Gold was, but he was different. He no longer looked human, and if he had a gimp it had gotten exponentially better. But this man, or beast, represented in my mind with Mr. Gold planned on helping me with my problem.

I described how it felt to be able to fly in my dream without it being a falling dream as well. I told him how I wish I could be a bird just like in my dreams. Then I would be able to fly wherever I wanted to go. I wouldn't be trapped in a dead end job at the bakery. Yes, I wanted to open up the bakery, but it just didn't feel right anymore. The sun started setting and that was our cue to go get something to eat. We went to Granny's, and Ruby sat us at a booth. On the table of that booth was a small vase with a single rose in it.

"Archie, did you do this?" I giggled. He nodded and fiddled with his glasses again. "It is very romantic. I love it." We both sat down and Ruby brought over menus for us to look at.

"You can order whatever you want. Everything is on me." I look at him over my menu.

"I have to warn you I am not one of those girls that barely eats anything. I love food, and I like eating a lot of it. To be honest, I don't know how I have stayed as fit as I am." We both giggled at that.

"I am well prepared for whatever you get to eat." Ruby came over and took our order. I ordered chicken strips and fries with a soda and he ordered the same. We sat there and chatted some more 'til our food came. I thanked Ruby, and she smiled at me and winked as she walked away. We both reached for the ketchup at the same time and our fingers touched for a second before we both pulled back our hands. I am pretty sure we were both blushing now. "Lady's first." I smiled and picked up the ketchup container and squeezed some onto my fries. I passes the container to him and he put some on the plate next to the fries. After that I sort of lost track of time. I guess we both did because Ruby had to come over and kick us out. It was already closing time for the diner. I took the rose from the vase before we headed outside.

"I guess we have to go home now." I said, a slight frown on my face.

"I guess so, Could I walk you to your apartment?" I smiled and nodded as we started to walk in the direction of my apartment. We shared a comfortable silence on the way to my residence. We walked up the stairs of the building with Pongo in toe. My door was the first one at the top of the stairs.

"This is me." He looked down at the floor. "I had a great time, Archie. Maybe we can do it again sometime." He looked up at me with the biggest smile I have ever seen on his face.

"Maybe, so." I stood on my tip-toes and kissed him on the cheek. His face turned a shade of crimson I had only seen on a tomato, and I giggled.

"Have a good night, Archie." I said as I unlocked my door.

"Y-yeah. You t-too." He stood there a bit stunned by my actions before he started down the stairs. I closed my door behind me and I just could not stop smiling. I headed straight to the kitchen to get a small vase and I put the rose in it. Maybe my life isn't as boring as I think it is. I guess I will just have to continue to live it to I find out.

 **A/N: Well, well, well, Archie is quite the bashful romantic. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I think that Archie is an amazing character and I feel as if he doesn't get enough love. It seems like everyone is coupling up and he has to me the clear minded one, but does that mean he has to be alone forever? How long will Archie and Ava be together, though. And right now I don't even know myself. I will just have to keep writing.**


	6. The Price Of Gold

**A/N: I skipped some dreams. Since a lot of Ava's past was flying to find someone. I hope you enjoy.**

Once again my alarm clock woke me up. My dream was of nothing but me flying. I was searching for something, no someone. I continue with my usual schedule. It took a little longer to get everything baked for Granny, but I was able to get to the diner before the lunch rush. I put the order on the counter and Granny looked it over. The bell on the door rang again and I looked over to see the Mayor, Regina. I was always uncomfortable around her. I always felt like she hated me. Regina sits down at the table next to the door where I see Emma sitting with a paper open to the jobs section.

"All set, my dear. Thank you for the extra." I smiled at her as she gave me the money for the order.

"It's no problem. I think I am going to get something to eat before I head back." I sit at the counter and Ruby comes over.

"I already put in your usual order." She knows me so well. She sets a glass of orange juice in front of me as Regina gets up and leaves the diner. Emma gets up from the table soon after, but ends up spilling her hot cocoa on herself. Ruby rushes over with a washcloth to help. Ruby ends up pointing her in the direction of the laundry room where that poor pregnant girl works. She is one example of why people do not like Mr. Gold too much. The only reason I know about the deal that Ashley made with him is because she came into my shop one day craving brownies and fudge. I had fudge brownies, so I gave her some for free. She was on her own.

Ashley told me about the deal she made with Mr. Gold; that she would give her baby to him and she would get some money. I may not agree with selling off your own baby, but I have started to think about it a different way. Mr. Gold is trying to help her. Ashley has seen it as such a burden since she found out that she had a bun in the oven. Mr. Gold is just paying her to take the burden from her. I do have a feeling that Ashley does not want to give the baby to Mr. Gold. She wants to prove that she can be a good mother to her child. As I was thinking about this Ruby brought me my pancakes and I ate them in a hurry. I got back to the shop and continue with my boring day. Archie comes by and we go out for a bit of a late lunch and a walk through the park.

Archie had been really great. The date that we went on last night made me realize that there are good men in the world. He was romantic, and I felt like I could just talk to him forever. I guess, as a psychiatrist, he should be easy to talk to. Anyways, I went back to work after our lunch date and the walk. I closed up pretty early, but I waited outside Archie's office until he was done for the day. As I am sitting there I see Mr. Gold close up his shop. He looks around as if he senses someone.

"Have a good night, Mr. Gold." I say. He turns and spots me as I wave at him. He looks concerned still, but waves back before walking home. It is getting pretty late, so I get up and open the door to the stairwell. Before I step in I hear the shattering of a window. I look towards Mr. Gold's shop and I see a figure opening the door and entering. I get nervous so I slowly walk towards the shop to see who it might be. Then, I see Mr. Gold coming back, and I breathe a slight sigh of relief. He sees me and holds up a hand to say that he knows and is in no need of help. I go back to Archie's office and tell him that I was just going to go home by myself. I kissed him on the cheek before I went back outside. I had a bad feeling, so I went by Mr. Gold's shop to check and see what was going on.

"Mr. Gold?" I called out by the door. The door was still unlocked so I head inside. "Mr. Gold?" There was no answer. I walk in to see Mr. Gold lying on the floor with a cut on his forehead. "Oh my God, Mr. Gold." I ran over and knelt next to him. It looked like he had been pepper sprayed by whoever had broken in. I looked around for something to wipe the blood off his forehead. In the process of doing that he starts to stir on the ground. I try to wipe the pepper spray off his face with the sleeve of my jacket so he can open his eyes. "So much for not needing my help, huh, Mr. Gold." He was finally able to open his eyes. "There you go. Do you want me to take you to the hospital?" He shakes his head. "You sure? You got a pretty big gash on your forehead, and I am pretty sure you might have a concussion." He was finally able to sit up.

"Thank you, Ava. I think I'll be fine." He was not fine. He started looking around for his cane so he could stand. I looked around and found it a bit behind me. I handed it to him, but I didn't want to just leave him the way he was.

"At least let Archie look at you. He may not be a medical doctor, but he could tell you if you need to go to the hospital." He nodded as he stood up, but he had to lean on one of the display cases. I went out the front door to see if Archie had left yet. Luckily, he was just leaving and locking up. "Archie!" I yell as I ran up to him.

"What happened, I thought you were heading home?" I grab his arm and start to drag him towards Mr. Gold's shop.

"It's Mr. Gold. Someone broke in and I found him passed out on the floor." He suddenly runs ahead of me to check on Mr. Gold. I run into the shop after him. "He doesn't want to go to the hospital, but I wanted to make sure he was okay." Archie asked Mr. Gold a few questions and cleaned the scratch on his forehead.

"Well, Mr. Gold, your cut doesn't need stitches. I don't think that you need to go to the hospital, but I would recommend you go just to make sure you don't have a concussion." Archie turns to me. "Would you like me to walk you home, Ava?" I was more focused on Mr. Gold.

"If Mr. Gold doesn't want to go to the hospital I guess we can go. You still sticking to your plan to stay away from the hospital?" I asked Mr. Gold.

"I'm fine, Ava. You can go home." I wasn't sure about leaving him, but Archie grabbed one of my hands to lead me out of the shop. Once we were out of the shop I went along with Archie and Pongo as they waked me to my apartment. We walked in silence. I couldn't get my mind off of Mr. Gold and wondering if he would really be alright. I walked into my apartment in a daze. I don't even think I thanked Archie for walking me home. I got ready for bed after setting my alarm, but I didn't go to sleep. I just stared at my ceiling all night. Am I worried about the welfare of Mr. Gold? Why would I be so worried that I can't sleep? As I continue to contemplate this, my alarm goes off.

"Already?" I really spent all night thinking about Mr. Gold. I shut off my alarm and get ready for the day. Before I head out I hear a knock on my door. That's weird, usually no one is up this early. I open the door to see the person I had been thinking about all night. "Mr. Gold. What are you doing here?"

"Well, I wanted to show you that I am fine. I haven't died. I did end up going to the hospital, though." I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

"Oh, good. I'm glad you're alright." He smiled, and just sort of stood there. "Well, I have to get to work. Granny is expecting my delivery, and I was a little late yesterday."

"Ah, yes. I also have some business to take care of with the break in last night." I grab my things and head out as Mr. Gold goes next door to Mary Margaret's place.

"Graham doesn't live in this building, Mr. Gold." I say before I head out.

"I am aware of that. I am looking for Emma. She is good at finding people." I nod and smile before leaving. I continue with my day as usual. I get Granny her delivery on time and eat my usual breakfast. When I go to leave I see Ruby's car is parked out front.

"Nice ride, Ruby." She looks up from cleaning one of the outside tables.

"Yeah, hey listen," She comes closer to me as she starts to whisper to me. "I need you to keep a secret."

"Okay, who do I have to tell?" It was true. I didn't really talk to many people.

"I don't know, your boyfriend Archie, or Mr. Gold. You seem pretty close with both of them." Alright, she did have a point there.

"Maybe you shouldn't tell me then." She nodded and smiled at me. "I'll see ya, Ruby. I hope whatever your secret is works out." I leave and head out to open up shop. I am just sitting there when Ruby comes running into the bakery. "Hey, What's wrong?"

"It's Ashley, She's in labor at the hospital. Granny won't let me leave my shift." She pulled out some cash. "If I pay you, could bring some of those fudge brownies to her?" I took the money, and bagged up the brownies.

"I'll head out now. You get back to work." She leaves and I close up shop before running to the hospital. I run in and notice that Emma and Henry are here. "How is she?" I ask as I try to catch my breath.

"She's still in delivery." I sit next to Henry, and I take out a couple brownies. I give one to Henry, and I offer another to Emma. She declines, so I eat it instead.

"You know, Emma, you're different." Henry says as he finishes the brownie I gave him.

"Why's that?" Emma asks as she continues to pace in front of Henry and me.

"You're the only one who can do it." He explains

"Break the curse?" Ah, Henry thinks that Emma is the one who can break this 'curse' he says is on Storybrooke. "Yes, I know, you keep telling me that."

"No, leave. You're the only one who can leave Storybrooke." I roll my eyes a bit, but I realize that I don't remember not being in Storybrooke.

"You left, and came and found me in Boston." It was a good point.

"He really had no choice. He's ten." I said.

"You believe what he's saying?" She stopped pacing and looked at me.

"He has a point. I can't remember anything before I started living in this town."

"If anyone else tried to go, bad things would happen." Henry continued.

"Anyone except…me." Emma clarified.

"You're the savior. You can do whatever you want." Emma crouched down so she could be eye-level with Henry as he continued. "You can go." They just stared at each other in silence as a doctor came up to us.

"Miss Swan? The baby is a healthy, six pound, girl." I stood up with Emma, a smile on my face. "And the mother is doing fine."

"What lovely news." Oh no. I know what that voice meant. I turned to see Mr. Gold by the front desk. "Excellent work, miss Swan." He hobbled closer. "Thank you for bringing me my merchandise." I was a bit confused so I looked to Emma. "Hello Ava. I didn't expect you to be here." I held up the bag of brownies.

"I brought a treat for Ashley." He then turned away and headed to a coffee machine to brew a cup. He put the cup in and had to bang his hand on the machine for it to give him what he paid for. I sat back down with Henry as Emma went and talked to Mr. Gold.

"I can't figure out who you are." I look at the ten-year-old next to me.

"What?"

"Who you are in my book."

"Ah. You don't have any clue?" I already knew that he thought that Archie was Jiminy Cricket, Regina was the Evil Queen, and Mary Margaret is Snow White.

"Well, the obvious would be the Baker who lived on Drury Lane. Could that be it?" He looked as if he were thinking.

"That is a nursery rhyme. My book only has fairy tale characters in it."

"Maybe that's why you don't know who a lot of people are?"

"Maybe," Suddenly we hear Mr. Gold talking about how Emma would understand a woman wanting to give away their baby. Then he went on to say that Ashley was the one to break into his shop the other night. Wow. I didn't think that she had it in her. I continued to listen in on the conversation that Emma and Mr. Gold were having. They talked about tearing up Ashley's contract. Mr. Gold said something about Contracts being the foundation of civilized existence. Then Emma made a deal with him. Ashley could keep her baby, but Emma owed Mr. Gold a favor at any point in the future. No matter what the favor was, she was obligated to do it. "Oh, that is dangerous."

"What is?" Henry asked me.

"Making any type of deal with Mr. Gold." He looked up at me as Emma came back over. We were then brought to Ashley's room to see her holding her baby girl in her arms.

"Hey," Emma said as Henry sat on the edge of the bed and I went to the other side. "What's her name?"

"Alexandra." She answered.

"It's pretty." It was a pretty name.

"Thanks for getting me here." Ashley looked up at Emma.

"Mr. Gold was outside. I took care of it. She's yours."

"She is?" Ashley looked like she was about to cry. "W-what'd you do?"

"I made a deal with him."

"Not a great deal, either." Emma glared at me.

"Thank you." Ashley said, and she looked at the bag in my hand. "Is that what I think it is?" I smiled and nodded as I put the bag on the table next to the bed.

"Yup, your favorite fudge brownies compliments of Ruby." Emma then looked at the clock on one of the walls

"Oh, hey, kid." She scoots Henry off of the hospital bed. "It's almost five. We gotta get you home." They rush out and I turn back to Ashley.

"Sadly I have to go, too. The bakery isn't going to run itself." I smile and wave goodbye as I head back to work. I get to the door of the bakery and I spot Mr. Gold walking towards me. "So, I heard you make a deal with Emma so Ashley could keep her baby." He nodded as he stood right in front of me.

"Yes, I did. And I saw you were there."

"Yup. Ashley is the friend of another friend, and I was doing a delivery for Ruby." I looked at him.

"Ah. Doing a delivery for a friend. I have to ask." He paused and I just looked at him expecting him to continue. "Did you know it was her, who broke into my shop?" Did he think I was in on it with her or something?

"No. Why?"

"Just wondering." He smiled and started to walk down the street. "Have a great day, Ava. Have fun with Archie." His smile fell into a frown and he continued to walk towards his shop. He looks like he doesn't approve of my relationship with Archie. Why would that be? My day continued, as usual. Then, after I close up, Archie and me go on another dinner date. I drank a lot on that date. Fruity stuff like daiquiris, and mudslides were my favorite. Archie drank some to keep up with me, but he was a lightweight compared to me. I guess I blacked out after my fifth drink.

 **A/N: I am still deciding if the next chapter is going to be a dream or if she is going to just wake up the next morning. I hope you enjoyed.**


	7. The Enchantress

**A/N: I have decided to make it a flashback/dream chapter. I hope you like it.**

My friend and his son have left town. They didn't even say goodbye. How could they do that? I thought we meant more to them. I have to get over this because I still have my two younger brothers and Morain to take care of. I work at the bakery still, and my family is still living with my boss. It has been rather boring since Bae and his father left. I guess that is to be expected, though, with Rumplestiltskin becoming the Dark One. Morain and my two younger brothers were afraid of him. If Bae even remotely got hurt his father would overreact. I heard that he turned a man into a snail and stepped on him because Bae fell in front of the man. I felt that I owed Rumplestiltskin a great debt. He supported me, comforted me, and he brought my sister back to me. There is no way I would ever be able to repay the kindness he has shown me.

"Ava!" Someone ran into the bakery screaming my name. They looked like they had seen the dead walking. "Someone claiming to be an enchantress has entered town. She has your brothers and sister." I bolted out of the bakery out towards the place that Bae and his father used to live. Once there I saw my siblings kneeling on the ground in front of a woman. Their hands were restrained behind their backs. They saw me and immediately started sobbing.

"I'm sorry." All three of them kept saying over and over. The woman behind them was a stranger to this town. It was not uncommon to have travelers occasionally pas through town, but they never took captives.

"What do you want?" I asked the stranger. Her head was bowed so no one could see her face. The hood of her blue-green cloak casted a shadow dark enough to hide all of her facial features. A soft giggle came from that darkness. For a split second it reminded me of Rumplestiltskin. But, he was gone, and unless he knows how to change his shape, he was not a woman. "What…do…you…want?" I say again.

"I know what you want, and I can give it to you." She finally answered. Her voice was like the most beautiful song I had ever heard.

"That is not what I asked."

"Isn't it, though?" What did she mean by that. "I have come to make a deal with you, child." I shifted uncomfortably where I stood.

"What deal could you possibly want to make with me?" I had no clue what she was talking about. I don't need anything. I have a job, a home, and people who love and respect me.

"I know everyone's deepest desires. I know what you yearn for most." She paused finally picking up her head. The shape of her face was visible, and she was beautiful. "You wish for everlasting beauty so you may find your true love." My jaw felt like it would hit the dirt, and my eyes went wide. How could she know that? I have never told that to anyone. "No one told me of your wish, girl. I simply know when I am needed. There is a price for this beauty that you seek." I was finally able to close my mouth and squint my eyes as my brow furrowed.

"What is the price that you speak of?" I would have to think carefully. Rumplestiltskin went mad with the power that magic had given him. It is likely what has happened to this woman, as well.

"It is actually more of a choice. You come with me and I only kill your siblings, or you refuse to come with me and I destroy this whole town including you and your siblings."

"How could I choose either option?" It was a loose-loose situation. "Either way you kill my siblings."

"Well, of course. If I take you under my wing you can have no baggage. I can't have you coming back here searching for family if you get scared or give up. If you choose to come with me you must have no safety net." Either way I loose my family. I could feel tears coming to my eyes. Could I really choose to be selfish.

"She will go with you." It was Morain. I looked at her as the first tear fell. "She has gone through so much, and she deserves to find her true love. To find someone who will do anything for her, and protect her 'til their dying breath."

"Morain, I can't."

"But, you must. Either way she will kill us."

"It looks as if your sister has spoken for you." The enchantress says with a smirk. "Don't worry. They won't feel a thing." She waved her hand above my youngest brother, then my oldest brother, and Morain was the final victim. I fell to my knees after Morain fell to the ground; unmoving. I could not stop the tears and sobs coming from me. I heard someone running towards me. "Not one more step, baker. She is going with me, and you and your town will never see her again." I couldn't do anything. I couldn't move. I felt like my life was over. I had no more family or friends to run to. I was lifted off of the ground by the woman, using magic. Now, I couldn't move even if I wanted to.

"Where are you taking me?" I whispered as my emotions calmed. We were already quite a distance away from the town.

"My home. Once we are there, we can begin your training."

"What training, I thought you were going to give me everlasting beauty?" There's that giggle again. "What's so funny?" She stopped walking and looked at me.

"You must learn how to give yourself eternal beauty. To do that you must learn magic."

"I don't want to learn magic. It turns good people dark." The woman smirked at me.

"You won't be thinking of it that way once you learn what I have to teach you." Then with a wave of her hand we were inside a dark cold room. "This, my dear, is where you will be kept." I was finally able to move on my own, and I nearly fell to the ground. I caught myself on a table in the middle of the room. "I will come here and teach you everything you need to know about magic." I looked around the room. There was a small bed with a nightstand against one of the walls. Two of the other walls had bookshelves covered in books. The final fourth wall had two doors. One was orange and the other was green. "On the other side of the green door is a simple bath and a place for other bodily functions. Think of it as an outhouse that is inside." That is strange that an outhouse room would be inside unless we were in some sort of castle. "The orange door is a way for me to get in and out of the room, and once I trust you enough, maybe you will be able to venture through it." So that is my exit.

"Am I a prisoner? This room sure feels like a cell if I am unable to leave." The books and the table made it less like a cell, but I didn't feel free.

"Goodness no." She laughed. "I simply have an enchantment on the door. Once I rust you and you are able to destroy the enchantment you are free to go. It is more of a way to motivate you to learn more, my child." She is smart, but I will try to find a way out of here, even if it or she kills me.

It has been quite a while since the enchantress, Mika, has taken me. I have learned a lot of the magic from her, but I feel like she is keeping something from me. We started talking about normal things about a year after she took me. I told her about the rest of my family being victims of the Ogre War, and I also told her about Rumplestiltskin and his son. She had actually heard of Rumplestiltskin and how he became the Dark One. She warned me to stay away from him. She warned me that he might not even remember who I am, that he might kill me on the spot. That is when I asked her to teach me about transforming or shape shifting. It took a lot of convincing, but she agreed to teach me.

About a year after I started to learn shape shifting magic I finally got the hang of it. That same day, Mika rushed in stumbling. She slammed the door shut and collapsed to the floor. I rushed over to her.

"What happened?" It looked like she was writhing in pain. Her hands were covering up a wound that was bleeding. I removed her hands to see a slash across her stomach. I tried to heal it with the magic she taught me, but it was no use. Whatever weapon did this it was not normal. "What kind of weapon did this?" She looked up to me.

"A special sword. The poison cannot be cured with magic." How is that possible? I thought everything could be cured with magic. "The sword and poison are from another realm." It's like she knew what I was thinking. I heard a chick and I looked to the door. It opened on its own. I looked back to her. "You must go. The people who did this will come to make sure I am dead. I have taught you enough to survive. You must lay low. Make sure no one knows who or what you are. You will eventually find your true love. I promised you that you would get everlasting beauty to find that person, and I have given you the ability to do that." I just stared at her. She slipped a pocket watch out of one of her sleeves and placed it in my hand. "This is what gave me my youth. It stops you from aging as long as you have it on your person." I could tell, as soon as it left her hand, that her skin began to wrinkle. I looked up to her face and she looked to be an old woman. "Now go." She pushed me away and with a wave of her hand she used her last bit of magic to turn me into a parrot. I flew out the door and past the mob running towards the enchantress.

I flew as far as I could and when my wings got tired I landed next to a tree. I tried to change back into human form, but for some reason I couldn't. Maybe I was just tired. I flew up into the tree and fell asleep on one of the high branches.

I woke up and felt well rested so I tried to turn back into human form. I tried and tried, over and over. I just couldn't do it. I started to panic, but I thought of something. Maybe the Dark One can help me. So, I started to search for Rumplestiltskin. I went town to town resting on windowsills and listening to gossip and storied about the Dark One. No one knew where he resided. They all just said that he appeared to those who were desperate enough to make a deal with him. Does that mean I am not desperate enough to need him?

I had been traveling a while when I got to this coastal town. Not many stories of the Dark One here, but I decided to stay a little longer in case something did come up in someone's conversation. I hung around the tavern in this town, and I guess I was not paying that much attention because all of a sudden I was trapped in a net of some sort. In my parrot form I could not use my magic to help me. I flapped my wings around trying to get free. I got so tired that I had to stop struggling. My captor brought me to the docks and onto a ship.

"What are you doing?" A feminine voice called out.

"We caught it in town." The woman came over and grabbed the net from the man. She looked at me closely, and I thought she looked rather familiar.

"She's beautiful." Then she turned around and started talking to a man. "Killian. We have a pet now." She walked up to this man named Killian.

"As you wish, my dear." His smirk was genuine. These two were in a relationship, and it looked pretty strong to me. I would even go so far as to say that it was true love. "We shall need to make sure that this little birdie doesn't go anywhere." He walks away only to return with a cage. It was golden in color and had a small perch hanging from the top. I was taken out of the net and placed on the perch as the tiny door closed. I got comfortable because I knew that I would be spending a lot of time in this cage. But, I would try to find a way to escape from this cage and this ship.

 **A/N: Hope you liked it. I would love to hear what you think of my OC and the story itself.**


	8. The Still Small Voice

**A/N: Sorry this took so long. It has been really hectic at work lately. I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

I wake up slowly, and it feels really nice. I haven't slept in in a long time. Wait. Why didn't my alarm wake me up? I snap my eyes open to a ceiling that was not mine. I look and see that I, for sure, am not in my own room. I then realize that there is an arm over my midsection, and a slight brush of air that seemed like breathing on my shoulder. Oh, god. Please tell me this is some kind of dream. I look at the body next to me. It's Archie. I breathe a small sigh of relief. At least we've gone on a couple dates, but I maybe would have liked to remember something about what we did. I look at the clock on his nightstand and see that I am so late. I bolt out of the bed and try to find my clothes. As I sit down on the bed to put my shoes on I feel the bed shift behind me.

"Oh, god, Ava. What happened?" I look over my shoulder to smile at him.

"Well, Archie, what does it look like happened?" I finally got fully dressed and stood up checking the clock again. "I am so late. Granny is going to kill me." I walked around the bed and spotted my purse. I went to the door to leave, but I turned back around and went over to Archie who had found his glasses and put them on. I bent down and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips. "We will talk about this later, but I have to rush to get some baked goods to Granny." I said as I walked back to the door. Before I went through the door. "See you later, Archie." I said before closing the door and running out of his place, past Pongo, and down the street towards my shop. I finally get there, but I struggle with the keys and drop them. "Crap." I whisper yell to myself. As I get the key into the lock I notice someone running towards me.

"Hey, what happened?" I look up to see Ruby. "You didn't come by at your usual time so I thought you slept in, but I went to your place and you weren't there." I tried not to make eye contact and headed inside my shop. "Wait. Are you wearing the same clothes from yesterday?" I put my apron on and turned to the ovens. "You slept over someone's house last night, didn't you?" I had to wait for the oven to heat up, so I move on to preparing batters and doughs. "You are blushing like a madwoman." I glare up at her. "It was Dr. Hopper, wasn't it?" I slam the bowl on the counter.

"Yes, Ruby, it was Archie." She looked taken aback by that, and she stepped back a bit. "Now, if you didn't notice, I am running extremely late." I slowly picked up the bowl to finish mixing the batter. Once I got everything in the oven I went and sat at the table Ruby was currently waiting at. "Sorry, I've been a little stressed."

"I can tell. I thought it was supposed to relax you." I rested both my elbows on the table and put my head in my hands.

"Well, we were both drunk. We went to the Rabbit Hole, and I just kept drinking. I think Archie was trying to keep up with me, and I woke up at his place."

"Wow, so what is bothering you isn't that you did it, but that you don't remember it."

"I don't know, I guess." I look at her through my fingers. "I really like him, but we've only been on two dates." A timer goes off and I go back to the oven to pull the food out as I continue. "I just have a weird feeling that I'm not supposed to be with him." Ruby walks over and leans on the counter.

"So, why don't you just tell him that? Archie is a reasonable and really nice guy. He will understand." I was finally able to box up the order for Granny's and placed the order in front of Ruby on the counter.

"That is the problem, Ruby. He is such a nice guy. I don't want to hurt him." She looked at me with a look that said she didn't know what I was going to do. "Get this to Granny. I'll see you later." She nodded and put the payment for the order on the counter. She headed out of the shop with the order. I switched the open side to 'closed' so I could think about what was going to happen with Archie and me. I sat all day in my shop just thinking. Sometimes I would veer off topic, though. I thought about Mr. Gold, my dreams, Archie, Emma, Henry, Mary Margaret, and then back to Archie again. I had to talk to him; we have to talk about what happened. I got up to go see him at his office, but I stopped when I noticed that it was dark outside. I can't believe that I have been sitting there, thinking, all day. I let out a breath, and head to Archie's office. I figured it was too late for him to have an appointment, so I just headed straight up. The sooner we talked about this, the better. I knocked on the door once and opened it. "Hey, Archie, can we talk about…" That is when I noticed that he was actually talking to Henry. "Sorry, I forgot that you had an appointment with Henry today."

"Yup." Said Henry. He had a huge smile on his face when he first spotted me. I don't think he likes these appointments. He likes Archie, but he doesn't like that his sanity is being questioned. "Did you bring cookies?"

"Why would I bring cookies? I didn't even know you were here, and I shouldn't be interrupting. I'll just wait outside." I start to head out the door leading to the street and a loud boom is heard as the ground slightly shakes. On the street, many of the townspeople are headed towards the old mining tunnels.

"Ava." I here Archie call from behind me. "Are you okay?" He puts a hand on my back as he comes up on my left side.

"I have a bad feeling." I looked to him, and I felt a hand grab my right hand. I look down to see Henry.

"Me too. What do you think it was?" The little boy says. The three of us start walking towards the old abandoned mining tunnels. We arrive and notice that just about everybody from town is gathered, and the Mayor is speaking.

"People of Storybrooke, don't be alarmed. We've always known this area was honeycombed with old mining tunnels. But, fear not, I'm going to undertake a project to make this area safe." We continue to walk closer. "To rehabilitate it into city use." Yeah right. "We will bulldoze it, collapse it, pave it." That is when I felt Henry's small hand leave mine.

"Pave it?" He said stepping in front of everyone there. "What if there's something down there?" Regina then bent down to whisper to Henry, and he whispered something back.

"Now, step back." She said to Henry getting a little louder. "In fact everyone please, please, step back. Thank you." Archie lightly grabbed my upper arm to pull me back a bit. I looked at him and smiled, as everyone else stepped farther away. Regina told Henry to wait in the car, so both Archie and me stick around to talk with everyone except for each other. We are talking to Emma when Henry calls Archie over to him. I continue to stand were I am until Henry calls out again.

"Ava, you too." I look over, then look around and point to myself. "Yes you." I go over to him, Archie, and Emma crouching down behind the police car. "This requires all of Operation Cobra. All three of you."

"I didn't realize I was in Operation Cobra." Archie said.

"Yeah, me too." I said looking to Henry for answers.

"Of course you are, you know everything." He said to Archie. Then he turned to me. "And you are, because you've helped me figure out who is who." He then looked to Emma. "We can't let her do this. What if there's something down there?"

"They're just some old tunnels, Henry." I said

"That just happen to collapse after Emma gets here?" The three of us grown ups look at each other. "You're changing things. You're weakening the curse."

"That's not what's happening." Emma says.

"Yes, it is. Did you do anything different today, cuz something made this happen?" I noticed that Regina was coming, so I backed up a little from our four-person huddle.

"Henry." She said as she approached from behind Archie. "I told you to wait in the car." She pushes Henry in the direction of her car as she continues to talk to Emma. "Deputy, do your job." Both Archie and me start to walk away, but Regina calls Archie back. "Dr. Hopper, a word please?" I follow him back to Regina on some sort of instinct to protect him, or maybe it was to support him. She notices me and glares. "Fly away, little birdie, this doesn't concern you." I look to Archie.

"It's okay, we can talk tomorrow." He says to me. I sigh and nod.

"Yeah, sure, it is getting pretty late." I say.

"Meet me at my office after you bring Granny her order. I don't have anyone coming in at that time."

"Okay, sounds good. I'll see you then." He leans in for a kiss, so I kiss him on the cheek. I walked home, and didn't look back. Yet again I was left with time to think about everything going on in my life. I am standing outside of my door when Mary Margaret walks by me to go to her place, but she stops and comes back to me.

"Hey, are you okay?" She asks me. "You're just standing out here, staring at your door." I didn't answer her. My gaze shifted to the ground. "Hey, what's wrong?" I could feel my eyes watering, or was I starting to cry again. I feel like such a crybaby. I look up at her and she wraps me in a hug. "Does this have something to do with you not coming home last night?" I nodded as I let some tears fall. "Okay, well, why don't we go inside and we can talk about it." We went inside my place and I told her everything that I could remember about the night before. "So, why are you so upset? Archie obviously likes you a lot, and you like him. It's not a crime to have a drink and sleep with your boyfriend."

"We haven't even gotten to that point yet."

"Were you dating him at the time?"

"Yes, but…"

"No buts. I think this is just the start of your relationship, and you two will get past it." She was so right. I am overreacting. "Plus, I think you two are super cute together."

"You really think so?" She nodded.

"Now, you are going to go to bed. And you will get up tomorrow to bake some stuff for Granny, and then you are going to go and talk everything out with Archie." We head towards the door so Mary Margaret can go back to her place.

"Okay, I think I can do that." I smile as she leaves and I close the door. I get ready for bed and set my alarm.

I wake up from a dream filled sleep of flying over villages and castles, and I get ready for the day. I am ready faster than I have ever been and I rush to the shop. I get the order ready ahead of schedule, and that leaves me waiting until I have to bring the order to Granny. I stared at the clock until it was time to go. I picked up the order and brought it to Granny's then I headed to go and talk to Archie. I knocked on the open door to his office and he looked up from his papers.

"Hey. You said we could talk about what happened the other night." He smiled and motioned for me to sit on the couch that his patients usually sit on.

"Of course." I sat down and he moved to sit next to me on that couch. "I just feel so bad about it." My smile falls a bit.

"Why would you feel bad?"

"I don't know." He looked at my expression and started to stutter. "I-I mean, I don't regret it."

"Me either. I was so confused yesterday, but then I talked to Mary Margaret." I smiled and turned my body to completely face him. "She said that we could get past this. She also said that she thought we were super cute as a couple. Her words, not mine." He smiled and I think we both let out a huge sigh of relief.

"Well, I'm a psychotherapist, and I was still over thinking it. I just didn't want to move that fast." He got up and held onto my hand as he dragged me to the door.

"If I remember correctly, you were trying to keep up with me, drink wise." I giggled. He grabbed his coat and as we headed out to the street. "Where are you taking me?"

"I thought I could treat you to some breakfast because I am busy during lunch time." My smile grew as I walked beside him, holding his hand. We sat in a booth at Granny's as Ruby came over with menus. "Actually, we'll just have our usuals." Archie said. Ruby smiled at me as she walked away to place our order to the kitchen.

"Ordering for me, now?" I smirked at him.

"Yep." He smiled.

"So, what did Regina want to talk to you about last night?" He paused, like he didn't want to tell me. "Was it about Henry's sessions?" He nodded. "Alright, I won't pry." Ruby came over with a coffee for Archie and an orange juice for me. "So, are we officially dating now?"

"We have slept together," he whispered so people couldn't hear. "So I would hope that we are." I giggled and covered my mouth.

"I guess you're right." We continued to talk about everything under the sun. Our food comes and we eat. Archie pays the bill and he walks me to the bakery. "This is my stop." I say. I go up on my tiptoes and give him a peck on the lips. He stands there, startled, for a minute. "Get back to work, Archie." He snaps out of it and smiles.

"I'll see you later." Then he heads back to his office. Around lunchtime Henry comes into the shop and asks for his usual because he is heading in for a session. I bag up a cupcake for him and watch him leave to head to Archie's office. Not long after I see him go past my shop again. I look at the clock. It has not been maybe ten minutes since he left the shop. I close up shop a little early and head over to check on Archie. On the way I see Emma heading the same way I am. She looked pissed.

"Hey, Emma, what's up?" I say. She looks at me. She is fuming.

"Archie said something to Henry about him being delusional." What? Why would he do that?

"That's odd. It doesn't seem like something Archie would do." Emma pounds on the door.

"Archie." He didn't answer so she called out to him again. When he continued to not respond I opened the door. We enter and see him sitting on the couch with Pongo. There is a glass in his hands. Is that alcohol? He must be extremely upset. Emma slams the door shut.

"What did you do?" I said as Emma walked in front of him. He looked guilty.

"You told me not to take the fantasy away, you told me it would devastate him." Now I know why Henry's session didn't last long.

"Oh Archie you didn't." He looked up at both of us as I made my way next to Emma.

"Of course if therapy stops working, you adjust it." Something was wrong he would never just adjust his way of thinking like that.

"Does this have something to do with your talk with Regina last night?" I said. Emma looked at me realizing something.

"Is it her? Did she threaten you?" Emma connected to my train of thought. "What could be strong enough to drown out your own conscience?" Archie stood up from the couch.

"I do not need to defend my professional decisions to you, either of you. Okay?" That is when Emma got a phone call. She checked the caller ID and looked even more pissed.

"Hello, madam mayor, nice work." Ah, Regina. I went over and sat next to Pongo. "Yes, I'm with Dr. Hopper, and guess what? You left your fingerprints all over him when you tried…" She stopped mid sentence. Regina must have been interrupted her. "I dropped Henry at your office an hour ago." If she was asking about Henry then something must have happened. "I don't know where he is." I looked up at Emma. Then I looked to Archie and he seemed to know something about where he might be.

"I do." He said as Emma hung up the phone. "He's heading to the old mining tunnels." I get up and grab Pongo's leash. "What are you doing?" I look up at him, no smile on my face.

"We are going to get him, and you are going to fix what you did." I said before heading out with Pongo on his leash. Emma and Archie followed after me. We finally got to the tunnels, but Henry was nowhere in sight. I let Pongo off his leash to see if he could get his sent. Pongo went to the opening of the tunnel and started to sniff at something in the dirt. Archie got to him to see what it was.

"I don't think he's here." Emma said

"I think he is." Archie held up an Apolo candy bar. "Candy bar, he had these with him." Archie and me looked into the entrance of the tunnel as the ground started to shake. Pongo ran away as Archie started to venture in to find Henry.

"Archie!" I yelled over the noise.

"Stay out here I am going to find Henry." As he continued into the collapsing tunnel the opening closed up with falling debris. Emma then came up next to me yelling for both Archie and henry.

"We have to get some help." I said as I frantically tried to get Pongo back on his leash. Emma called Graham, and I called Marco and Ruby. I needed someone here to keep me from totally freaking out. In no time people were down at the mining tunnels to help out. Ruby and Marco both kept me from hyperventilating and passing out. I handed the leash to Ruby and walked over to where Emma was talking to Graham and Marco.

"He will keep the boy safe until we get to them." Marco said before the ground shook again. I grabbed onto Marco's arm to keep from falling. "Watch out!" He said.

"Stop! Stop! You're making it worse!" Regina yells as she ran down to us.

"I am trying to save him." Emma bites back. "You know why he went in there in the first place, don't you? Because you made him feel like he had something to prove."

"Why does he think he has anything to prove? Who's encouraging him?"

"Do not put this on me."

"Oh, please, lecture me until his oxygen runs out!" Regina looked as if she were going to cry. I just centered myself. That oxygen was also shared with Archie, but I couldn't panic. I had to believe that we would get to them.

"We will get to them, Ava." I looked up at Marco and smiled. "They will be out before you know it." He brought me over to sit next to Ruby and Pongo, then he went back to talk with Graham and Emma. They started to set up explosives at the entrance, and we all took cover. The explosives were detonated, but when the dust settled the entrance was still blocked. Everyone was starting to get tense. It seemed like nothing we did was working. I went to Pongo who was in one of the trucks nearby. He started barking, and I couldn't get him to calm down. Wait. Maybe he can find a way to get to them.

"Emma!" I called her over as I started to open the truck door. She came up next to me. "I think he can find them."

"What?" She said as Pongo jumped out of the truck and started to sniff around in the grass nearby. Pongo stopped and sniffed around one spot. "He's found something." Pongo started to whimper and paw at the ground.

"This is where they must be." I said as everyone gathered around. I pulled him away as Graham and Marco uncovered some sort of vent.

"What is that?" Emma asked.

"It's an air shaft." Graham states. I breathed a sigh of relief. We could get them out now. Marco hooks up the grate to a toe truck, and it is lifted off.

"So, what's next?" Regina says with her arms crossed.

"We need to lower someone straight down, or the line will collapse the sides of the shaft." Marco offers. Then everyone starts to offer themselves up for the job. They finally decide that Emma would be the one to go. She was lowered, and I got a bit scared when the ground shook again. But, everyone was brought up safe and sound in the end. Archie gave Marco a great big hug as I waited a little bit away from everything, with Pongo. Then I saw Marco say something to Archie, and they both looked over to me. Marco gave Archie a pat on the back, before he went to talk to Graham. Archie smiled at me as I ran over to him, wrapping my arms around his neck. Then we shared the deepest kiss I have ever shared with anyone. I was so happy he didn't die. I pulled back and I rested my forehead against his.

"I don't know what I would do without you." I said.

"Well, you won't have to find out." He assured me.

"Thank you, Dr. Hopper." Great. I really didn't want Regina talking to either of us. We let go of each other and looked to her.

"I, uh, I have something to say." He gave me a look saying he would be okay as he walked away to talk to Regina in private. I just stood there, with Pongo, watching everyone cleaning up and celebrating the success of the rescue. Then, Archie came up behind me and rested a hand on the small of my back.

"We should get you medically cleared, mister." He had some sort of injury and I wanted to make sure he was going to be okay. Marco met us at the medical van and we talked until Archie was cleared. We noticed the sun had set, so we went to head home. Before we left we came across Emma talking to Henry.

"Gentlemen, Lady" Emma said when she noticed us. "Well, c'mon, your mom wants to take you home." She says as she goes to get up.

"Hey, listen." We all stopped and listened. Was that the sound of crickets chirping?

"Crickets" Archie said.

"They're back. Things are changing." Henry said. I don't think I had ever heard crickets in Storybrooke. Soon after, we all gathered together to celebrate some more. Marco offered us all a sip from his flask, but no one decided to take him up on his offer. As it got later I decided that it was time to go home.

"I think I'm gonna head home. I have to be up in six hours." Everyone waved goodbye, and I start to walk off. I felt someone come up next to me.

"I'll walk you home." I smiled as he took my hand. I looked down to see Pongo on his other side.

"Alright then." We mostly walked in silence. Once we got to my door I turned to face him. "I'm glad we talked things out."

"Me too. Would you like to maybe go out for dinner tomorrow?" He asked, and I smiled up at him.

"I would love that." He smiled at my answer and went to walk away. "Hey, no goodbye kiss?" He swiveled to look back at me. He looked a bit surprised. I stepped up to him and kissed him on the lips. "Goodnight, Archie. I'll see you tomorrow." I smiled at him and went inside to get ready for bed.

 **A/N: This chapter is probably the longest chapter I have written for this story. I hope you liked it. I would really like to hear what you think of my story so far. It would really help me out.**


	9. The Castle

**A/N: This is a fairly short chapter, but I wanted to get it out to make up for the long wait before the last chapter.**

I am so hungry. I haven't had one meal in a couple days. Rumple was captured by Snow and Charming. Cinderella tricked him. I understand why she did what she did, but you can't escape a deal with Rumplestiltskin. That was not what I was worried about, though. Rumple said he wanted to be in that cell, so I have to trust that he knows what he is doing. Since he has been locked up I have been hanging around Snow White's castle. I have not ventured too far away because I wanted to keep an eye on everything.

I fly around the castle looking for any sign of stray bugs that might be hanging around. Yes. I eat bugs. They are delicious when I am in my parrot form. I finally hear the flapping of tiny wings. If I could smile as a bird I would. I locate the flapping and see a cricket. It is a pretty big one too. What a treat. I fly a bit closer. It lands on a windowsill and I make a dive for it. At the last second it spots me and flies inside. I fly after it, chasing it around the room. My wings ended up knocking things over. A man in the room grabs the cricket and gives it to a small boy. Then he gets a broom and starts swatting at me.

"Wait." I said. "Wait, you don't understand." The man stopped trying to hit me with the broom as I flew to the center of the room to turn back into my human self. "Is the cricket a pet of yours?"

"No, he is a friend." I must have looked about ready to faint because the man brought over a stool for me to sit on. "Who are you? Where did you come from?" I looked up to him. Then I looked past him. The small boy was still holding the cricket.

"No one you need to fear, at least when I am in this form." The boy smiled at me as he came closer. "I was only chasing your friend because I have not had a meal in a couple days." The man seemed wary of me still. Then the cricket flew up to me. I saw that he was actually wearing tiny clothes and he had a tiny umbrella as well.

"My name is Jiminy Cricket. We could get you something to eat if you are that hungry." I smiled at him. "I am afraid that I am not on the menu, though." That made me giggle.

"I will go see what the kitchen is cooking." The man said. "Come, Pinocchio." The boy ran to the man as they both left me alone with Jiminy.

"Don't worry about him. He is just very protective of me and Pinocchio." The cricket says to me.

"I don't take offense to much these days." He tilts his head to the side. "I am actually here to keep a prisoner company. I love him deeply, and I don't know what I would do if something bad happened to him."

"Who is he?"

"If I say, you might not trust me so much."

"If that is the case, then you telling me would make me trust you more." I took a deep breath. I know what people thought of my Rumple, but I saw a different side of him. A softer side did exist. The side that was constantly looking for his son existed. I have seen it.

"His name is Rumplestiltskin." Jiminy jumped back a bit. I don't think he was expecting me to blurt out that name. "Please, I didn't come here to get him out. I just wanted to be with him. I am so used to living with him that I don't know what it is like to be without him. I would go so far as to say that he is my true love." Jiminy continued to listen to my ramblings

"Calm down. You are not Rumplestiltskin himself. In fact I have heard nothing of you in the rumors around the kingdom." I let out a sigh of relief. "Have you ever gone out with him to collect on his deals?" I did not have to think very hard.

"No, I only took care of him and his castle." That is when the man and Pinocchio came back with some food. A woman also came with them. I stood up realizing that this woman was The Snow White. Rumple talked about her, and his dealings with her.

"Well, who is this new arrival?" She said as she entered. Jiminy few to her. "I heard that she was first seen in the form of a bird." I just stood there. I was a bit afraid that Jiminy would tell her about my relationship with Rumple, but he did not. He only said that I was hungry and chased him into this room in my bird form. Once she heard that I was in need of a meal and possibly a place to sleep she turned to me. "If this is true you can stay here, in the castle." My jaw dropped. Was she really going to let a stranger stay in her castle?

"You would really let me stay here?" She just smiled at me. She is beautiful, truly the fairest in the land.

"Of course. If there is one thing I have learned from my father and other experiences in my life, it is to make sure that everyone around you is happy." A smile made its way onto my face.

"Thank you so much, your majesty."

"It is my pleasure. And what is you name, may I ask?"

"My name is Ava." I could not stop smiling. Her eyes grew wide, but then she smiled at me.

"Gepetto," She said as she turned to the man. "Could you show Ava her room when she is ready?" The man nodded at her and brought some of the food to me. "I will visit you before I retire for the night." She smiled at me as she exited the room. I started to eat as I made myself familiar with the room. It looked to be a wood working room. Gepetto took a while to warm up to me, but Jiminy and Pinocchio were quick to start up conversations with me. I took the last thing on the tray of food. It was a small biscuit. I bit into it, and knew that there was something that could be changed to make it better. I did work for a baker when I was younger. When it was time to retire to my new room Gepetto brought me. I entered and was reminded of the room I had in Rumple's castle. There was a large bed sticking out from the wall on the left, a large balcony on the back wall let me see a long distance. A vanity was on the left wall, and next to the door was a large wardrobe.

"This room is gorgeous. Is it really mine?" I whisper to myself. Gepetto had already left, but I could sense someone at the door.

"Of course it is." I turned to see Snow White in the doorway. She stepped into the room and stopped in front of me. "As you might know, though, everything comes at a cost. Is there something that you might be able to do around here?" I knew exactly what I wanted to do.

"A long time ago I worked at a bakery." Snow's face lit up.

"That is great. You could help out in the kitchen. I will send someone to come get you in the morning." I nodded in agreement, and she made her way out of the room to retire to her own room. I was so excited. I went out on the balcony. The fresh air made me feel more relaxed than I have been in a very long time. There was someone that I had to tell about what happened today, so I turned into a parrot and headed down to the small barred window of his cell. I squeezed myself through the bars and fluttered down to where he sat on the floor.

"I hear you had quite an eventful day, dearie." He said before I even said anything.

"I did." I got closer to him, and he sat up. "I was invited to stay in the castle. They gave me a room and everything." He smiled and giggled.

"Perfect."

"What is next in this plan of yours?" He looked at me, his eyes more intense than ever.

"I need you to get onto Snow White's council and report back to me about everything that is discussed and decided on. You can leave the rest to me." I nodded as I flew back up to the barred window. "Goodnight, dearie. Have sweet dreams tonight." I then flew back to my balcony and went to bed in my human form. This plan of his was going to work out. Rumple wanted to be in that cell, and I am sure that if he wanted to escape he would have already. I just wanted to focus on my new duties.

In the following days I was welcomed into the kitchen and started to bake things for Snow White, her husband, and everyone else in the castle. On my off time I would spend time going between Jiminy and his friends, and my love who resides in a cell. One day Jiminy invites me to sit in on one of the council meetings. He told me that Snow White had asked him to invite me. I accepted and went to the council meeting. I just listened to what they were talking about, and what they were planning to do. Most of it was little things, but there was a subject that always came up, the Evil Queen. I always reported back to Rumple after the meetings and he always seemed pleased. Then One day, the curse came. I saw the purple cloud from my balcony and I quickly flew down to Rumple's cell.

"It is coming Rumple." I said and I squeezed through the barred window. He smiled at me.

"I know. Isn't it glorious? All of my hard work is finally paying off, Ava." He was so excited. "I am one step closer to finding my son." I was also happy for him.

"I can't wait to see Bae again." He looked at me. It almost seemed like he had forgotten that I knew his son.

"We can finally be a family." He said as he pet the feathers on my head. "Now, you must go."

"Why? Why can't I stay here with you? What if I forget you?" His expression looked sad. It was an expression I learned well. He always had that expression on Bae's birthday.

"Even if you do forget me, I will find you. I will make sure you are well taken care of, and you will want for nothing." The conviction in his voice made me believe that what he said was true. He was going to take care of me.

"I look forward to seeing you again, Rumple." He smiled at me as I squeezed back out of the window and made my way to the nursery where Jiminy, Gepetto, and Pinocchio were. But Pinocchio was not there, and Gepetto was crying. "What happened?" I asked as I landed next to Jiminy.

"Gepetto sent Pinocchio through the wardrobe." There was a slight shake in his voice. The poor boy would be all alone in this new world without magic. Would he really be able to take care of baby Emma? We had to have faith that he would. I then flew out of the castle and rested on a nearby tree, waiting for the curse to consume me.

 **A/N: I hope you liked it. And I wanted to give a shout out to reviewers.**

 **girostritron: Thank you for your review. Ava and Archie's relationship progressed as I started writing. I wasn't originally going to have them be together, but I couldn't resist.**


	10. The Shepherd

**A/N: Here is another chapter. It seems like everyone who is reading this story likes it. I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

A few days had gone by and I was invited to a welcome home party for David. I only knew about him because of Mary Margaret. When I knew that she was not planning to go, I decided I wouldn't either. I closed up shop early, but I stopped by Granny's to pick up some food and a few drinks. I ordered a hot chocolate with cinnamon for Mary Margaret and a regular hot chocolate for me. It took forever for the food I ordered. On the way back to the apartment to keep M&M company I see Emma

"Weren't you supposed to be at that party for David?" I said as we walked closer to each other. She looked at me a bit surprised.

"The party sort of fell apart after the guest of honor disappeared." Emma answered.

"He escaped his own party? What a guy." We walked up the stairs to the apartment together, and opened the door to see Mary Margaret washing dishes ferociously with a brillo pad.

"You might want to ease up or that brillo pad is gonna press charges." Emma says, getting Mary Margaret's attention. I walk in and set the food on the counter.

"Dishes were just piling up." She said.

"Sure they were." I said rolling my eyes. "I didn't get anything for you Emma. I didn't know you would be joining us." I pulled the food out and set the hot chocolate with cinnamon next to Mary Margaret's food.

"That's fine, Ava." Emma said as she came closer to the counter. Then she turned her attention back to M&M. "Does this have anything to do with David stopping by?" What? David visited? I couldn't say anything because of the fries that I had just started to chew up. "I saw him sulking away as I pulled up." It must have been right before we met up to come up here.

"We just, uh…he just…" Wow, was she really stuttering right now. It must have been something serious that happened between her and David.

"Yeah, I know you were both just… and you did the right thing." Emma said knowing she wouldn't just come out and say it.

"He made a pretty compelling case." I had heard from M&M about her relationship with David. That she liked David and wanted to be with him, but he was still a married man.

"But he's still married." I said between bites.

"I know that's true, I was just at the party." Emma said to support my comment.

"What do I do?" Mary Margaret asks.

"Maybe you should stop cleaning and eat the food I just brought you." I said. The food and hot chocolate was getting colder by the second.

"And maybe have a drink." Emma added on.

"Ooh that sounds good. Pour me a glass, too." I said as Emma went over to the liquor and poured three glasses of scotch. I left my food on the counter to join the other two.

"Here's the thing. I don't know a lot about relationships, other than having many that failed." Emma started. "But, generally speaking, if you think something you wanna do is wrong…it is." That was true in most situations. You try not to give up hope that something wrong can become right, but that is rarely the case. "So, you gotta stay strong, and he has to figure out his life."

"Cheers to that." I said as we all lifted up our glasses and clinked them together. We all took sips from our glasses and then talked a lot about my relationship with Archie. They finally got sick of asking me questions about him, and I got tired in general. I kept yawning, and when I looked at the clock I noticed that it was already midnight. "Alright, I gotta go. I'll see you two tomorrow." I left to my apartment and went to bed.

When I brought Granny her order the next morning I noticed Mary Margaret reading a paper at one of the tables. I waved to her as I left, walking past Dr. Whale on the way. The day seemed to be uneventful until around noon. I just started to get close up when I hear someone come into the shop. I go to the front to see Graham.

"Hey, Sheriff, what can I get cha?" I asked. He looked a bit nervous. "Am I really that scary? Is that why people rarely come in here?"

"No, no. I need to bribe Emma to work a night shift for me."

"So, you decided to come into a bakery?" I giggled. "You sure you don't want to find something shiny in Mr. Gold's shop to give her?" He seemed amused with my answer. "I know what will make her accept. Just wait here." He was so lucky that I hadn't thrown anything out yet. I had just enough donuts to make a full box. I brought the box out, and set it in front of him. "That will be twenty bucks, Sheriff." He took out his wallet and paid before taking the box off the counter.

"It's a bit expensive, but thank you. You are a life-saver." He said before he waved and walked out the door. I closed up after he left then went on a walk with Archie and Pongo. We had gone on a few more dates, and I couldn't be happier with our relationship's progression. Archie had another appointment so we went our separate ways. I double-checked that everything at the bakery was okay, and it was. So, I just stood on the sidewalk outside the bakery breathing in the crisp night air. As I look towards Mr. Gold's Pawn Shop. He hasn't visited me in the shop in a while. Maybe I should go see if he's still in his shop. I'll bring him one of my leftovers in case he is. I go back in the shop to grab a few left over baked goods and bag them up before heading over to the pawnshop. I step out of the bakery and notice someone entering the pawnshop. I get closer and realize that it's David. What does he want? I open the door still watching what he was doing. Mr. Gold didn't seem to be around.

"Hey." I harshly whisper at him. I guess I startled him, but he shouldn't have been in here anyway. "What are you doing in here?"

"I was trying to find the Toll Bridge."

"Well, clearly it's not in here. I think you are looking for something to jog your memories." I giggled. David didn't answer me. He just started to look around some more while I leaned against one of the display cases. I knew that Mr. Gold was here because the OPEN sign was in the door. David walked over to a beautiful mobile with glass unicorns. It was almost like he was drawn to it.

"Charming." The owner of the shop finally comes in to see who is here. The corners of my mouth pull up into a smile almost immediately.

"I'm sorry?" David asks as he walks towards Mr. Gold who is standing behind a glass display case.

"The mobile, isn't it charming?" Mr. Gold clarifies. "Exquisitely designed, masterfully crafted. I could get it down if you like."

"No, no, I mean it's very nice, but actually I'm looking for the Toll Bridge. The mayor said there would be a fork in the road by your shop, but" David continued to look at the map in his hand. What was the mayor talking about? There is no fork in the road.

"It seems miss Mills has led you astray."

"Yeah, you think the mayor would know her own town."

"One would think." I giggled and they both glanced at me for a second.

"Out the door, turn right, two blocks, you'll find the trail, you can't miss it." Mr. Gold directs.

"Thank you." David says before he goes to leave. I step closer to Mr. Gold thinking David is leaving. I realize that Mr. Gold is looking past me, and I turn to see David looking at some windmill lawn decoration.

"See something you like?" Mr. Gold said.

"Where did you get that?" David asked him.

"That old thing?" I said with an attitude. I didn't think it was that great looking, but to each their own, I guess. "That's been gathering dust for as long as I can remember in this shop." David walks closer to the wooden windmill and spins the blades. It looks to have a hypnotizing effect on him.

"I think this belonged to me." If it belonged to him in the past then there was a reason it was here. He obviously got rid of it.

"Really?" Mr. Gold asks. "Are you sure?"

"Yes." David whispered, still staring at the spinning blades. "I remember." That is when David ran out of the shop.

"Wow, he didn't even buy anything." I said as I turn back to face Mr. Gold. "But, I guess even the cheapest thing here is a bit more expensive than a stick of gum from the convenience store." I smiled. "Or a cookie or two from the bakery." I said as I held up the bag of leftovers. He smiled as he took the bag from my hands.

"Thank you, to what do I owe your visit with these sweets?" I looked at him and smiled

"Well, you haven't come to visit me in a while and I wanted to see if you were okay." He smiled at me.

"You were worried about me?" He smiled at me as he opened the bag of cookies.

"Of course I was. You are one of my best patrons. It seemed like you stopped visiting me after I started dating Archie." He seemed to stiffen when I mentioned Archie. "Wait. Is it he the reason?" He kept avoiding my gaze. "Do you have a problem with him?" Then it hit me. The day that Archie came in to ask me on our first date Mr. Gold was going to ask me something. He said he just wanted some pastries, but now I think he was trying to ask me something else. "Were you trying to ask me out the day that Archie did?" He still wouldn't look at me. "Well, if you had just asked I probably would have said yes." He finally looked up at me. "Now, because you were a too much of a coward, you will never be with me. You blew your one and only shot." I started to back away from him towards the door. "Have a good night, Mr. Gold." I saluted him and left his shop.

I am so mad. Would I really have chosen Mr. Gold over Archie? Now I will never know because he never asked me. At least Archie had some courage to ask me out. My mind was pulling me in so many ways. Why did I get so mad at Mr. Gold for not asking me out first? Do I like him? Do I like him more than I like Archie? No, there is no way that's true. I didn't want to be alone in my apartment, so I stopped in at Granny's diner and sat at the counter.

"You look like you need a drink." I look up at Granny and smile.

"Is it that obvious?"

"Well, You stormed in here with a scowl on your face and your brow all bunched up in the middle of your forehead." She said as she pointed towards my forehead. I rub out the crease with my hand.

"I'll just get a chocolate shake, please." She smiled and went to get me my drink. I rested my elbows on the counter, and I rested my chin in my hands. Granny brought me my shake, and I took a sip as she walked away to take care of other customers. I just stared at my drink as I stirred it with my straw. Then I heard the bell over the door sound. I looked to see Mary Margaret walking towards me and sitting next to me at the counter. "Hey what's up?" She didn't say anything. "How was your day?" Still no answer. "I guess I'll go first." I said starting to tell her about my _lovely_ encounter with Mr. Gold.

"He chose Kathryn." She said just above a whisper. My jaw dropped. I reached a hand over to rub her back.

"You wanna talk about it?"

"Not really." Then she turned to me. "How was your day?"

"I found out that Mr. Gold like likes me." Now it was her jaw dropping.

"What how do you know that?"

"Well he hadn't come in to visit me at the bakery in a while, so I went over and asked if he was okay." She just sat there looking at me, and waited for me to continue. "He was going to ask me out the day that Archie did, but was a coward and didn't."

"Wow. That is so unlike him. He gives off such an air of confidence."

"I know right?" Granny brought Mary Margaret her usual Cocoa with cinnamon. "I even told him that I probably would have picked him over Archie."

"Is that true?" She was really interested in my life's drama.

"I guess I'll never know. Now that Archie and me have been going out, I don't think I would. But, at the time I liked both of them pretty equally. Maybe I did like Mr. Gold a tiny bit more, but…" I trailed off. I didn't know where I was really going so I slurped down a good amount of my shake and gave myself an ice cream headache.

"I think you like him, and the only reason you are upset is because you are thinking of what could've been. Just live in the now, think of what you have with Archie."

"I guess you're right." I looked at the clock and it was late. "I gotta go." I said to Mary Margaret as I hopped off the stool. I put money on the counter for the shake and waved goodbye to her as I left the diner. I hope tomorrow is better than today.

 **A/N: I hope you liked the part where Ava called Mr. Gold a coward. It seems like a lot of people in the show call him a coward when he wants to escape being one.**

 **A note to reviewers:**

 **victoria cullen34 (commented on chapter 5): I am so happy that you like my story. Thank you for spending the time to read it and review. I aim to please the readers.**


	11. The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter

**A/N: Thank you all for your patience with my uploads. Work has been really hectic, and I am trying to start up my art again. Anyways, as you can see I start out with a small piece of Mr. Gold's reaction to what happened with him and Ava in his shop. There is a spoiler warning if you have not watched season 1 all the way through. It has to do with some things that Mr. Gold thinks about. So, be warned. The slight POV change is a request from one of my reviewers, and I write to please. Please enjoy this chapter.**

Mr. Gold POV (There could be slight spoilers in this first section if you have not seen all of season 1.)

She called me a coward. How dare she. She should know that I am no such thing. Wait. I have to remember that she doesn't know certain things. Maybe I could jog her memories somehow. How would I be able to do that? I need that curse broken, and fast. I can't watch her with that bug any longer. With Emma in town it is only a matter of time before this curse is no more. I must wait; be patient. The longer this curse exists the more Ava will drift away. That must not happen.

I head home thinking of everything that she said to me. She had been worried about me because my pattern of visiting her had been broken. Maybe, I will go back to my visiting pattern. Maybe, she will warm back up to me. Yes, that is what I must do. I am finally at my place when I realize something. Ava had been talking about her dreams. She said that she didn't remember having dreams before Emma arrived in Storybrooke. Her dreams started up recently, and from what she has told me they are memories of her time in the Enchanted Forest. She is already on the verge of remembering everything.

Maybe one final push is all it would take to get her to remember everything. I head up to my room. A small necklace stand sits on the nightstand next to my bed. The necklace that sits there is something I never want to be out of my sight. I shall bring it with me to the shop tomorrow in hopes that she stops in. If she sees it her memories will return fully. At least that is my hope.

I could gift it to her, as an apology, so she has it for after the curse breaks. It would be dangerous if she did not have it when I bring back the magic. I can't lose her. She is the one who has kept me sane this whole time. My course of action has been set. Tomorrow is a new day, and my apology gift will be given. I slip off to sleep as I think about having Ava by my side once again.

Ava's POV

Today has started out the same as any day. The only difference is that Mr. Gold has come into my bakery. Why? I am pretty sure it isn't time for the rent to be paid. Is he here to apologize? He is standing at the counter. I have my arms crossed over my chest, and I just glare at him. I want him to talk first. I have nothing to say to him. He pulled out a long jewelry box. What was that?

"I wanted to apologize, Ava." I tilted my head to the right still not saying anything. "You were right. I am a coward." I squinted and waited for him to continue. "I hope this gift will be enough to get me back in your good graces." He sets the long jewelry box on the counter and slides it closer to me. I look down at it, but I shake my head. I slide the box back to him without even opening it.

"I can not be bribed with jewelry, Mr. Gold." I stared at him, and I could see he was getting a bit nervous. If I didn't know better I would say he looked a bit sad. "If you are not here to buy anything or collect rent, please leave." That is when Archie comes into the bakery. I notice him, and I look at the clock. We planned to go out to lunch.

"Is everything okay in here?" Archie asks. I take my apron off and pick up my purse.

"Everything is fine, Archie." I say as I turn off the ovens and walk around the counter. Mr. Gold is still standing by the counter. "Now, I am closing the bakery. You have to leave, Mr. Gold." I went to the door and held it open for the two men to walk through. Archie went through first, and Mr. Gold took a little more coaxing. When they were both out I flipped the 'OPEN' sign to 'CLOSED'. I locked up the place and walked over to Archie. Then I turned to Mr. Gold, who was still standing in front of the bakery. "My friendship is not easily bought back. If you want to get my friendship back, act like a friend." I said before walking towards Granny's for lunch with Archie.

We walked into the diner and sat at a booth. Ruby automatically brought us our usual drinks, and said that she already put our order in. We thanked her as she walked off. We sat in awkward silence. I know that he wanted to ask me about the incident with Mr. Gold. I, however, do not want to talk about it.

"How have your sessions with Henry been going?" I finally ask to break the silence. He looks up from the table.

"Good, good." The silence fell once again. "Hey, what…"

"Archie, I don't want to talk about it."

"Okay, I won't push it." Once again the silence crept between us. That's when our food finally came. Thank god. I started eating my chicken and fries so I wouldn't have to talk about what happened. I wanted Mr. Gold as a friend. Well, who would want to be Mr. Gold's foe? No one. We finally finished our meals, and Archie refused to let me pay for it. He has paid every single time we have gone out. I guess I should be happy about that with my business being so slow. He walks me back to my shop, and he goes back to work. I just sit, bored, in my bakery until someone comes running into the shop.

"Ava, something bad has happened." It was Mary Margaret. Apparently Emma called her saying that something happened to Graham. I closed up shop and we both ran to the hospital. It didn't go well. Graham was pronounced dead on arrival. Emma broke down more than she already was, and Mary Margaret and I tried to console her. We had to walk her back to the apartment she shared with Mary Margaret. We tucked her into bed, and I said goodbye to Mary Margaret as I left to my own apartment. I can't believe that he's gone. Sure we weren't the closest, but we were friends. Who will be Sheriff now? Emma is a mess, so she won't be able to step up right now. Henry is right, things are changing, but at what cost?

 **A/N: Thank you for reading. I am sorry for such a short chapter. I am starting the next chapter after I post this. It will be a flashback/dream chapter. Hopefully I can get it out faster than this one. Please review. I do read and listen to what you suggest and comment on. I hope you liked this chapter.**


	12. The New Dark One

**A/N: Here we go. Another dream/flashback. I hope you like it.**

It has only been a couple days since my sister was taken to fight in the Ogre War. I was in such a deep depression that the muffin man let me stay home with my brothers. I didn't leave my bed, and I don't think that I could. Rumplestiltskin's words got me through the day that Morain was taken, but the next day I woke up without her here. It broke me. Baelfire visited earlier today. He told me that he was worried that his papa was trying to find a way for him to not be taken. I knew that he was going to take Bae and try and run. That is what a lot of people in the town said he did. He ran from having to fight in the Ogre War. I don't blame him. I would rather live out my life maimed then die by the hands of an Ogre.

Bae, though, had said that he wanted to fight. He said he would be proud to fight and defend the peace. That made me smile. Maybe if he went, Morain wouldn't have to be alone. When he left, I was then alone. He and my brothers were out playing. I just rolled over, still not wanting to get out of my bed. Later that day, I thought my brothers had come back. They did come back, but Bae tagged along and so did his father.

"Ava, what happened?" Rumplestiltskin said as he came up to me lying in bed. Now I felt bad. He was a big supporter of me, and I felt like I was letting him down. "I thought you were okay after I talked to you the other day." He sat on the edge of my bed.

"I can't do it. Without her here there is this deep sorrow in the pit of my soul." I could feel my eyes welling with tears. "It's like a piece of me is missing." He reached out a hand to brush my messy hair out of my face.

"Sure you can. Your brothers need you." His eyes showed that he was feeling a great deal of empathy. I could see that even his eyes were starting to water. Do I really mean that much to him? "Now, why don't you get up and have something to eat?" I nodded, but I don't really want to move. He helped me sit up and stand. Even though he needed a staff to stand he helped me to stand and walk out to the table in the common area. I sat in the chair and Rumplestiltskin prepared something for me to eat. He got Bae and my two brothers to help him. From the looks of it they were trying to make me flat cakes. It is my favorite thing to eat. When they were done they set a plate of them in front of me. I looked up at the four of them and smiled.

"Thank you. I really needed this." I said as they smiled back at me. I started eating as Bae and my brothers went back outside to play. "So, did Bae tell you I was still in bed?" Rumplestiltskin looked at me and smirked. He shook his head.

"No. I was out and about early this morning and I only saw the muffin man open the bakery." Ah. "When Bae came by with your brothers I asked him if you were sick."

"I don't know what I would do without you two." I said, smiling as I took another bite of one of the flat cakes. Out of the corner of my eye I saw his expression fall. I immediately looked over at him. "What? What's wrong?" He looked away from me.

"As you know, Bae is coming of age to be drafted in the Ogre War." I nodded waiting for him to continue. A look of worry etched onto my face. "I don't think that there is any way to prevent Bae from being taken." I wanted to tell him that Bae wanted to go. I wanted to tell him that I wanted him to go, just a little bit. I wanted Morain to have someone that she knew to help her and keep her company in the trenches. But, I don't think that he wanted to hear that. He wanted to keep Bae for as long as he could. He didn't want to lose his family, and I totally understand where he is coming from. "Except…If Bae and I leave, we could miss them coming to the village." My jaw dropped.

"You're leaving?"

"It wouldn't be forever. We could come back after the war has finished."

"No one knows how long this war is going to last. What if I die before I see you two again?" I don't know why I said that.

"I think I would die before you do." He said. It didn't make me feel better, but he was right. He is older than me. Not counting the diseases and other things that could happen, he would probably die before I did. "I need to do this. I can't lose my boy. You and this town will probably be better without me, the village coward." I hate that he said that. I hate that people call him that. He isn't a coward. He is a great person.

"Well, whatever you decide to do, I will support you. Maybe you could send letters to me when you get a chance." I say as I smile again. He smiled back at me as the three boys came back. Then Bae and his father left, and I knew that they would be trying to escape tonight. This might be the last time I see either of them.

The next day I got up, but I didn't feel up to heading back to work just yet. I was just walking around town, getting some fresh air. That is when I saw Baelfire sitting on the side of the road. I was sure that they were planning to leave town last night. I walk over and sit next to him.

"Why do you look so sad, Bae?" I asked. He continued to look at the dirt. "Did something happen last night?" I didn't want him to know that I knew what was supposed to happen last night.

"Papa tried to smuggle me out of town." I stayed silent. I knew that much, but I wanted to know what went wrong on the way. "We were quite a ways from town when some soldiers stopped us." That couldn't have been good. "They were the same soldiers that took Moraine. They called papa names, and said that he ran away from the front lines of the Ogre war. He said that mama left because she was ashamed of him. But, that's not true. Papa said that mama died." That's when he looked up to me. I didn't know the truth about Baelfire's mother, so I couldn't comment on it. "He called papa a coward." That is what many people say about him. "They were going to take me, but papa asked them what they wanted. He made papa kiss his boot." What animal would do that to someone? I could feel tears coming to my eyes as I looked away from the boy.

"That's horrible." I said as I wiped at my eyes. Then I looked back at him. "So, you both decided to come back."

"This old man, that we helped out, helped us back to our place. He is living with us, for now." My brow scrunches together.

"I am glad you came back, Bae." I said with a smile. He turned to me and gave me a hug. It startled me a bit, but I hugged him back. "Everything is going to be okay, Bae. I'm sure of it." He looked up at me and smiled. The hug ended and I stood up. I held a hand out to Bae, who was still sitting on the ground. "Come on, let's get you home." He grabbed my hand and I pulled him up. We walked side-by-side to the hut right outside the town. We got there and I saw an old man talking to Rumplestiltskin. "Hello, stranger. I hear that you helped out my friends here." I said as Bae and I got closer. Rumplestiltskin looked over at me with surprise.

"I told her everything, papa." Bae said. The stranger came over and held out a hand to me.

"Yes, and who may you be, dear?" I took his hand and he kissed the back of it.

"What a gentleman." I giggled. "My name is Ava." I say as he lets go of my hand. I then turned to Rumplestiltskin. "Your run away plan didn't work, I see." I say. His eyes went to the ground. He wouldn't look at me. "You look at me mister." I said a bit stern. He finally met my gaze. "Whatever is supposed to happen will happen anyway. There is no stopping it. I have finally come to grips with Morain being drafted. If Bae is to be drafted, then it will happen."

"It doesn't have to." Said the stranger. What did he mean?

"Papa, can Ava stay for supper." Bae asks.

"Oh, I don't think I could, Bae." I say. "I have to get back home to my brothers." Bae looked sad at what I said, but then his face brightened.

"What if your brothers come over and spend the night?" I looked over to Bae's father and he gave a slight nod.

"Alright, I will go home, gather my brothers, and some ingredients for a delicious stew." He smiled at my answer. "I will be back before you know it." I walked over to Rumplestiltskin. "I will bring all of the food, so you don't have to worry about feeding everyone." He smiled at me and I left to get my brothers and the food. We got back to the hut with my brothers and some food to cook in a pot. Bae and my brothers played outside as I started to make the stew. We all casually talked about the things that were going on, avoiding the fact that Bae would be taken soon. The stew was finished and we divided it among six people. The three boys finished their servings and they were tucked in to bed. They had finally fallen asleep when I scooped another serving for myself. We had plenty left over and I was not about to waste any food. Then Rumplestiltskin served the stranger another serving.

"Another day, gone." He said. "There'll be no fleeing now."

"No, you need to find another way. You need to choose a different path." The stranger said as he started to eat from the bowl that was given to him.

"Choose. What choice do I have?" Rumplestiltskin whispered in response.

"Young boys and girls are taken every day. No one can stop it." I say.

"Everyone has a choice." Said the old man. I looked over to my friend. Just from the look on his face I could tell he had no faith in this man's words.

"I'm the town coward. The only choice I have is which corner to hide in." I put a hand of support on his shoulder as he started to break down. "I'm lame, friendless, the only thing I've got is my boy, and they're gonna take him away from me." I wasn't going to correct him about being friendless because he was emotional, and that is how he truly felt at the moment. "If they take him away I will truly, truly become dust." He looked at the sleeping Bae as the old man leaned in towards us.

"Not if you have power." Both Rumplestiltskin and I wrinkled our brows in confusion.

"You may as well say diamonds." I said.

"Get ahold of yourself." He said to my friend. "Think. Why do you think someone as powerful as the Dark One would work for a useless fool like the Duke of the Front lands?" the man whispers.

"Tell me." Rumplestiltskin said. He is desperate for anything that will help him keep Bae with him.

"The Duke has the Dark One enthrall. He's enslaved him with the power of a mystical dagger. And on the blade is written a name."

"Who's name?" I asked.

"The true name of the Dark One." Both of us were in awe. "If you were to steal the dagger. Then you would control the Dark One yourself, and then no one would be able to take your son away from you." That story seemed to be the ramblings of a mad man to me, and I looked at Rumplestiltskin. He looked as if he thought the same thing as me.

"To keep a man like the Dark One as a slave? No, I-I-I can't. I'd be terrified." He said. That is true. To have such a powerful person around me would be too scary. What if the Dark One broke from he bind of the dagger? What would happen then?

"Then, perhaps, instead of controlling the power, you need to take it."

"How would you be able to take the power from the Dark One?" I said. How could anyone go to the most powerful being and take the power that they have.

"You have to stab the Dark One with the dagger. It's the only thing that can kill him." The man says. I looked to my friend, and I he seemed to have hope in his eyes. I smiled at that. It's good to have hope, but at what point is hope foolish? We all went to sleep. In the morning I pushed my brothers out of bed and had them go back to town ahead of me. I said goodbye to my friend and wished him luck on his task to try and gain the power of the Dark One. I told him I would come check on them later in the night. I wanted to make sure that they were going to be okay.

Later that night I went to the hut outside of town. There was no one there, but I wanted to wait for them to come back. They had to come back at some point. It was quite a while before anyone came by. The bushes started to rustle, and I looked to see that it was only Baelfire. I sighed in relief.

"Bae." I said as I pulled him into a hug. I looked around to see that he was alone. I let him go and looked down at him. "Where is your father?" I asked.

"Papa said that he got the dagger, but he had to do something before he came back home. He sent me to wait here."

"I shall keep you company until your father comes back, then." I said we waited inside in silence. The sun started to rise, and that is when we heard the stampede of hooves headed our way. We stayed in the hut. The stampede stopped and the door was broken in. The soldiers took Bae, and I couldn't do anything about it. They took Bae outside as I followed. We were finally all outside when one of the soldiers by the horses fell to the ground. There was someone behind him. The person is hooded, but it looks like Rumplestiltskin. His skin is a golden hue, and his eyes are more intense than they had ever been. The lead soldier kneeled before him.

"Dark One." The soldier then took a better look at who was standing in front of him. "No." He whispered as the new Dark One started to walk towards us. The power he took from the previous Dark One must be making his leg less injured somehow. "Who are you?"

"Have you forgotten me already?" he said in a husky whisper. "What was it you used to call me again? Spindle shanks? Hobble foot." The soldier finally realized who was standing in front of him.

"Papa?" Bae said also realizing his father was the new Dark One.

"Rumplestiltskin." The soldier said.

"Wonderful, and now you shall know me as the New Dark One." He smiled, but it wasn't his usual warm, friendly, smile. "How about a little fealty?" He presented his boot to the soldier. Was he really going to do this? "Kiss. My. Boot." He said. I looked on in horror as the soldier bent down to do as he said, but his head was grabbed and twisted. The soldier's neck was broken, and it seemed as if the man was now dead. I grabbed Bae as he tried to stop his father from killing the other soldiers. I held the boy as close to me as I could. I didn't let go even after all the soldiers were slaughtered. Bae managed to look towards his father.

"Papa, what has happened to you?" The boy voiced my thoughts.

"You're safe, Bae." He answered. "Do you feel safe, son?" He asked as he walked towards us.

"No." Bae said as we started to walk backwards, away from him. "I'm frightened."

"I'm not. I protected what belongs to me, and I'm not scared of anything." I didn't know what to do. My friend was sick with power, and he had only had the Dark One's power for less than one night. There was only one thing that I could do. I looked down at Bae. I needed to make sure that this boy was going to be okay staying with his father. I would have to visit them every day. Maybe my visits would calm the power hungry side of the New Dark One. Rumplestiltskin.

 **A/N:I hope you liked this chapter. I wanted to show that her protective/mothering instincts have always been present even with children that aren't her own. I hope to get the next chapter up on Thursday, so I hope you look forward to it.**


	13. Desperate Souls

**A/N: It took a bit longer to get this one out, but it is longer than usual as well. I hope you enjoy.**

 **Lady Jensen:** Chapter 12 happens before Baelfire is sucked into the portal. Chapter 7 happens after that incident.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the storyline or characters from the show. The only thing I own is my character Ava.

The funeral for Graham was well attended. It was a solemn event, as it should be, and many people spoke kind words about him and his life. I sat with Archie as I tried not to cry. He rubbed my back and provided tissues when needed. I couldn't watch them lower his casket into the ground, so we went back to my place. I sat at my kitchen table as Archie made some tea. The hot beverage did help a lot, but I had a feeling something wasn't right. Young healthy people don't just die. Archie and I just sit in silence until a knock comes from the door. I don't move. I don't want to deal with anyone right now. That is when Archie gets up to see who is at the door. I zone out, so I don't see who it is. Archie comes back with someone.

"Ava?" Archie asks, trying to get my attention. "Ava, Mr. Gold is here. He wants to ask you something." I finally snap out of my daze and see Mr. Gold standing behind Archie. Archie steps to the side and Mr. Gold steps towards me.

"Dear Ava, I know that today is emotionally draining for you, but I wanted to ask you something." I just looked at him with my brow knitted together. "Graham's apartment needs to be cleaned out, and I wanted to know if you would like to help me with that." Why would he be asking me this? I'm sure he had friends that were closer to him than I was. I looked up at Archie.

"Can Archie come too?" I needed his support right now. Mr. Gold looked to Archie and sighed before looking back towards me.

"Of course." I thought about if I really wanted to do this, but I felt I had to. We weren't that close, but Graham was a friend.

"Okay. Let's go." Archie and I followed Mr. Gold out of my apartment and to Graham's apartment. We enter, and the air smells stale. It looks lived in, but no one has been in here since the death of the man who lived here. Mr. Gold heads to the window and opens the curtains to let in some natural light. I walk around and notice a few things lying around that make me smile. There are a bunch of framed pictures of him and other people. Almost all of them were group pictures. I was in a lot of them. There was one that was actually of just him and I in front of my new bakery. It made me smile because it was the first day that my bakery had been open.

"You can take it if you want." Said the pawnshop owner from behind me. I turned around to face him as I held the framed picture close to me. I nodded and walked around some more. Archie started to put some of Graham's things in a box. A lot of it included the pictures. Then, I found the walkie-talkies and put them in the box. I went to Graham's closet and opened it to see a couple pairs of shoes on the floor. The hangers held a few shirts, but there wasn't much else. I went back to the living room area where the two men were waiting for me. I looked around the place one more time. I had never been in Graham's apartment before, and I would probably never step foot in this place again. I then turned back to the men. "I'm ready to go, now." Archie held out his hand and I took it as he led me out of the living space.

"Thank you for your help, miss Ava." Said Mr. Gold as he carried the box of Graham's belongings out of the apartment behind us. I think he wanted me to help out so I would be able to get some sort of closure. Mr. Gold isn't a bad guy. I know that, but I can't trust him as a friend again just yet. Archie brings me back to my apartment and it is pretty late, so I decide that it's time to get ready for bed. Archie heads for the door, but I stop him.

"Wait!" I yell. He stops and turns around. "Could you stay here tonight?" I ask. I didn't want to be alone? This was a small town, and Graham was important to just about everyone. He was the Sheriff, and he knew everyone.

"Sure." He said turning away from the door and taking off his jacket. He pulled out a cell phone and called Marco to ask him to watch Pongo for the night. Once that was all figured out I got in bed and Archie followed. I fell asleep in his arms, and I was content.

A couple weeks later I wasn't fully recovered from Graham's death, but I started opening the bakery like normal about a week ago. It was a bit busier than usual. I guess more people wanted to eat away their grief with sweets. Today was the day that a new Sheriff would be appointed. I hope it's Emma, but I know that Mayor Mills would put someone else in that position. Someone who would do whatever she wanted. During a lull in business I sit at one of the tables. My head is pounding, so I lay my head on my arms that are on the table. I only get about a minute of rest when the bell above my door rings. I look up to see Henry. I smile at him, but he doesn't look happy at all.

"Hey kid, what's wrong?" I ask as he sits across from me. He doesn't really say anything. "How is Operation Cobra going?" Still nothing. Wow. "I know what'll get your spirits up." I said as I go behind the counter to grab a double chocolate chip cupcake with vanilla icing. I go back to the table and set it in front of him. He looks at the cupcake and a very slight smile appears on his face. It was almost like the Mona Lisa's smile.

"Operation Cobra is stopping for now. It's too dangerous." Poor kid. He thinks that playing with this 'curse' caused Graham's death.

"Well, maybe a break would be good. Everyone is still trying to get over the death of a very important person." I looked at him as he starts to eat the cupcake. "I don't know if anyone is ready to believe that they're fairytale characters, when something so tragic has just happened." He nodded and I smiled at him. He finally finished his cupcake and thanked me before he left. The business slowed down after Henry left, so I closed up early. On the way home I ran into Mary Margaret.

"Hey M&M." I said. She smiled at me as we started to walk beside one another.

"Hey Ava. How was business today?" We walked into the apartment building and started walking up the steps.

"Good. Slowed down a lot, so I just closed up." As we got closer to our apartments we could hear loud music. It was coming from Mary Margaret's door. "Mind if I come visit?" I asked her. She smiled at me and nodded as we entered her apartment. The music was blaring, and I saw Emma doing something to a toaster. Mary Margaret turns off the music and Emma finally notices that she isn't alone anymore. "Toaster broken?" I asked giggling slightly.

"It wasn't when I started with it." Emma answered. "I'm pretty sure it is now. I just needed to hit something."

"What's going on?" Mary Margaret asks as she puts down her bags down.

"Regina fired me so she could put one of her own puppets in as Sheriff." That's a bit harsh. "It's my job."

"Never heard you so passionate about it before." Mary Margaret says as she starts to empty her grocery bags. "What happened?" I put my purse on one of the chairs by the counter and hung my jacket there too.

"I don't know, I just, I know I want it back." Emma said. She kept trying to take the broken toaster apart with a knife. So much for not sticking a knife in a toaster.

"There must be a reason." I say as I watch her destroy the poor toaster. Then a knock is heard on the door.

"Maybe, I just want to beat her." Emma said as she goes to the door to answer it. I start to help Mary Margaret put some of her groceries away when I hear a familiar voice at the door.

"Good evening, Miss Swan." It's Mr. Gold. "Sorry for the intrusion. There's something I'd like to discuss with you." Both Mary Margaret and I were just watching them at the door. Emma turned to us.

"I'll let you two talk." Mary Margaret says. She grabs my wrist and pulls me out of the room. On the way I make eye contact with Mr. Gold. It was only a split second, but I saw a couple emotions in his eyes. There was guilt, sadness, longing. Then I was alone with M&M in her room. I could hear the conversation going on in the other room, something about running for Sheriff. Mr. Gold left and Emma said we could come out of hiding. We talked for a while. When I was ready to leave I picked up my things and said goodbye to M&M and Emma. I was ready for bed and I called Archie. We started calling each other if we slept separately. We talked about everything that happened during the day and we said goodnight to each other.

The next day, I decided to extend an olive branch of sorts to Mr. Gold. Around lunchtime I closed up shop for my lunch break. I brought a container of cookies with me as I entered the Pawn Shop. I entered and there is no one in the front room. He must be in the back. I walk closer to the counter and set the container of cookies on the display case. I wait patiently for him to come up front. The curtain in the doorway to the backroom moves and Mr. Gold comes out to greet me, finally.

"Well, hello, Miss Ava. I wasn't expecting you." He said. I push the container of cookies towards him.

"Life is short, Mr. Gold. I can't stay mad at you forever." I smile at him as I lean on the counter. We talked about the things that were going on around town, but I tried to stay away from saying anything about Archie. He started showing me a special lighter when someone came into the shop. We both looked up to see Mayor Mills. She came in and turned the 'OPEN' sign to 'CLOSED'.

"Regina," Mr. Gold said. "Shall I move some things, make a bit of space for your rage." I giggled slightly as Mr. Gold went to walk to another display case. Regina glared at me.

"I don't need to talk to you with a bird over your shoulder." Why did she keep referring to me as a bird? I just looked to Mr. Gold. It was his shop, and he had the final say to who was in his shop or not.

"Whatever you have to say to me can be said in front of her." I relaxed and leaned back against the display case counter.

"Fine." The Mayor said as she walked farther into the shop. "You found that loophole in the town charter."

"Legal documents, contracts if you like, always been a fascination of mine." Mr. Gold said. It must have to do with whatever he was talking to Emma about last night.

"Yes, You love to trifle with technicalities." Regina said as she leaned on the display counter next to me. I scooted a bit away. I didn't want to be too close to her if she exploded. I looked over to Mr. Gold who was looking at one of his displays of daggers.

"I like small weapons, you see. The needle, the pen, the fine point of a deal, subtlety. Not your style, I know." I walked towards the dagger display case. I am not into weapons, but the selection he had was interesting.

"You're a bastard." The Mayor said.

"Hey!" I didn't want her getting away with insulting my friend.

"Stop your twittering." She snapped back at me.

"I think your grief's getting the better of you, Regina." Mr. Gold said. I backed off, but continued to glare at the woman. "Shame what happened to Graham."

"Don't you talk about him. You know nothing." She said as she walked towards us.

"What is there to know? He died." Mr. Gold threw back at her. Regina leaned in close to him over the counter.

"Are you really going up against me?" She said. I continued to keep my eyes on her.

"Not directly. We are, after all, both invested in the common good. We're just picking different sides." Mr. Gold was right. At least I would hope that Mayor Mills was in this to improve things around here.

"Well I think you picked a really slow horse, this time." She said. Emma was not a slow horse. Many people in town liked her. She has a shot. "It's not like you to back a loser."

"She hasn't lost yet." I piped in. She turned to me.

"She will." She said as she stood up and looked back to Mr. Gold.

"Never underestimate someone who's acting for their child." He looked over at me for a split second before looking back to Regina.

"He's not her child, not legally."

"Oh, now who's trifling with technicalities?" I smiled at that. Using her own words against her. They stared each other down for a good minute before Regina left. I stared at her back until the door closed behind her. "If you're not careful, dearie, your face will be stuck looking like that." His words snapped me back to reality.

"Sorry, she just really got on my nerves." He smiled at me as he made his way around the counter towards me.

"No need to be sorry, Ava." An awkward silence fell between us, and I decided to break it.

"I only came over here on my lunch break to give you the cookies. I have to get back to the bakery." I started making my way to the door.

"Yes, I wouldn't want to keep you from doing your job." He said as he followed me to the door.

"Have a nice day, Mr. Gold." I said as I stepped outside. "I hope you start visiting the bakery like you used to."

"Of course. I'll see you soon." I smiled as I made my way back to the bakery to open up for the rest of the day. At closing time Archie meets me outside the bakery with Pongo on his leash. Archie and I are supposed to go on a date, but I wanted to make something for him. I had everything I needed at my place. As we walked to my place we were passed by a fire engine. We were both curious, so we followed the fire truck. We lost it, but knew that it was heading towards Town Hall.

When we got to the building we saw many people crowded in different groups. The fire that had apparently lit up Town Hall was already out, and the two people who had been inside at the time were safe. Archie and I gathered with Granny, Red, and Mary Margaret around Emma. We started talking about what happened as Henry came up to us.

"Did you really rescue Regina?" Mary Margaret asks.

"She did. The fireman said it." Henry answers. He looked happier than he did the other day, and that made me smile. "They saw it."

"You are a hero." Red says.

"We should see if they have a picture of the rescue." I said looking towards Emma with wide, excited eyes.

"We can make campaign posters." Granny piped up.

"People would love that." Archie said. "That's a great idea." We were all really excited about helping Emma in this election for Sheriff, so we all start to make plans for fliers and posters. In the next couple days posters for Emma were made and put up. Now it is the day of the debate and I could not wait. I just had a feeling that Emma would be victorious. Archie is going to be the mediator and he has practiced what he plans to say. He has said it in front of me many times, but as we wait behind the curtain backstage he kept messing up words or didn't like how he said a certain line. I walked up to him. "Welcome citizens of Storybrooke."

"Hey, you are going to do great." I said. He looked up at me and smiled. "If you are worried about saying the wrong thing, don't be. You have nailed this opening speech so many times. Just think back to when you were doing your speech at my place."

"I know. I just want to get it right." He said back to me. I smiled up at him.

"I have to get to my seat. Good luck." I said as I pressed a kiss to his lips. I headed to my seat as Mr. Gold came into the building. "Hello, Mr. Gold." I said. He looked towards me and I headed to my seat.

"Hello, Ava." He followed me and sat next to me. I looked to the stage as Archie started talking.

"Tragedy has brought us here, but we are faced with this decision. And now, we ask only that you listen with an open mind, and to please vote your conscience. So without further ado, I'd like to introduce you to the candidates, Sydney Glass and Emma Swan." I smiled. He was doing well. "Glass, Swan. Sounds like something that a decorator would make you buy."

"Oh, God, no." I whisper. Mr. Gold looked at me and smirked. Why would Archie try to joke like that? It wasn't even that good.

"Wow, crickets." Archie said when no one laughed at his joke except for himself. "Okay, ah, mm, ah, Mr. Glass, your opening statement." He said as he backed away from the podium. Sydney Glass stepped up.

"I just wanna say that if elected I wanna serve as a reflection of the best qualities of Storybrooke. Honesty," Yeah right. ", Neighborliness, and strength. Thank you." Everyone clapped, including me, as Sydney sat back down and Archie came back to the podium.

"And Emma Swan." He introduced. She came up to speak as Archie stepped aside again.

"You guys all know I have what they call a ah troubled past, but you've been able to overlook it because of the um hero thing." She didn't look nervous, but she looked like she felt guilty. What could she have felt guilty for? "But here's the thing, the fire was a set up." What? My jaw dropped. Everyone started murmuring to the people next to them. "Mr. Gold agreed to support me in this race, but I didn't know that that meant he was going to set a fire." I looked to the man sitting next to me. Ah, so that's how he is helping her. I closed my mouth and smiled. What a smart move, Mr. Gold. Well played. I turned back to watch Emma continue to speak. "I don't have definitive evidence, but I'm sure. And the worst part of all this, the worst part of all of this is I let you all think it was real. And I can't win that way. I'm sorry." That is when the man who sat next to me got out of his seat and left the room.

The debate continued as planned. Then it was time for everyone to vote. I voted for Emma, and I waited for the ballots to be counted. Once they had been counted I was filled with joy. Emma had won, and Mr. Gold's plan had worked. No one liked Regina, but Mr. Gold was always thought of as worse than her. Once Emma stood up against what Mr. Gold did everyone was on her side. We all went to Granny's for the victory party and to tell Emma that she had been truly victorious. When we got there Regina was already there, and she gave Emma the Sheriff's badge. We celebrated into the early morning, and I told Granny that I probably wouldn't be bringing in her order tomorrow. She understood, and Archie brought me home.

I got up the next day, earlier than I wanted to, and decided to make a batch of cookies for our new Sheriff. I made chocolate chip and after they finished cooling I packaged them in a container and headed to Mary Margart's apartment. I knocked and waited for someone to answer. The door opened, and Emma greeted me.

"Hey Sheriff." I said with a giggle. I held out the container of cookies for her to take. "I thought you could use a treat."

"I thought I smelled cookies." She smiled and took the container as she actually came out of the apartment. "I'm actually headed in now."

"Good luck." I say as she opens the container and puts one of the cookies in her mouth. She waves back at me as she walks down the stairs. When I can no longer see her I go back into my apartment and try to get some more sleep.

 **A/N: Thank you for reading. I really hope you liked it.**


	14. Meeting Granny

**A/N: If you have not watched past episode 7 of season 2 be warned. There are things in this chapter that I would consider spoilers. If you read this and have not watched that far please don't be mad at me. That is why it has taken so long. I am trying to get the next chapter done so you can just skip this chapter. Again. This is fair warning that there may be spoilers in this chapter.**

Finally I am free from the cage on that wretched ship. I still don't understand how to control this magic, but I need to get as far away from the port as possible. I have been flying for about a day. I get tired, so I rest on a high branch in the canopy of the forest. As I settle in I hear teeth clicking. I look around and I see a squirrel start coming towards me. I decide it isn't the right branch to rest on so I fly a little farther into the forest. I land on another tree limb and rest for a little bit. I sit there for about an hour before I hear another noise, but it sounds far off so I don't move. Seconds later something hits me in the back. I am caught off guard, so I don't even register that I am falling out of the tree until one of my wings hits a branch. I try to fly, but my wing is now broken. This is it. I am going to die as a bird that fell out of a tree. I braced for impact and my death, but it never came.

I felt the soft warmth of whatever hat caught me. I open my eyes to see an older man. He is probably around the age that Rumplestiltskin was before he became the Dark One. I try to stand on his hands, but he stops me.

"Calm down little one." He smiles at me. "You are in good hands." He starts to walk through the forest. "I am going to bring you back to my home, and my wife and I will fix you right up." I relaxed after he says that. I am glad that I am in the hands of a seemingly nice man. I sense something different about him, though. We finally make it to this man's home, and a woman comes out. She is beautiful. "Dear, I found an injured bird that needs our help." The man says as the woman starts to carefully lift me from the man's grasp.

"You poor thing." She said to me as she cradles me in her arms. She walks towards the cabin as she continues to talk to me. Does she know that I am not really a bird? "My name is Crystal. The man who brought you to me is my husband. His name is Gerard." We finally cross the threshold of the cabin and she sets me down on the bed in the corner of the room. I look around to see a partially built rocking baby crib. I looked towards the woman, Crystal, again. I see a very small baby bump. She is pregnant, but she is just starting to show it. I would congratulate them if I could talk. Wait, maybe I can. Parrots can talk. I try to say something, but it comes out as a squawking sound. "Don't you worry, this is going to help you." Crystal said as she starts to do something with my wing. When she finishes, I look at what she has done.

She has splinted my wing. Hopefully it heals well. I watch the two interact across the room. The way Gerard looks at Crystal with such love and affection is beautiful. I want someone to look at me like that. Mika had promised me that I would find my true love. I just have to be patient. I have all the time in the world now that I have Mika's pocket watch. She said it would keep me young for as long as I wear it. The next thing that I have to figure out is how to get back to my human form. Even before that I need my wing to heal.

It took a while for my wing to finally heal enough for me to start trying to fly again. It was a joyous occasion. The brought me outside and I flapped my wings. I lifted myself into the air and flew around in the open air above the trees. But, there is something that pulls me back to the couple. I fly down to them and land on Gerard's shoulder. They look at me with curious expressions. They are probably wondering why I am back. It makes sense. They think I am a wild bird, but I enjoy their company. I stay with them, and I feel content and safe with them. I have decided that I will stay with them until I can figure out how to get back to my human self. It was a very long time until that happened. It was after Gerard and Crystal were already dead and gone. I have mourned the loss of their lives many times over, but their children had children, and I have been with them the whole time. I saw many of them grow up, and I also saw many of them die.

I wish I had been able to produce some sort of protective magic that tragic night. It was not meant to be, though. In my bird form I could not do anything but watch. I was brought to the roof by the granddaughter of Gerard and Crystal, Widow. We sat quietly as we watched her father and brothers head out to hunt down a wolf that has been terrifying the people living in the area. Before they can head out to find the beast, the beast comes to them. We watch as this huge wolf tears apart the boys and their father. Widow, trying to get away, falls off of the roof and lands in front of the vicious wolf covered in the blood of her family. I try to distract the canine, but it swats me out of the way.

The wolf bites the girl's arm then runs off. I finally am able fly to her, and she is hyperventilating. I get as close to the girl as possible and nuzzle my head against her neck. It hakes a long time for her to calm herself down, but she has no energy. I want to leave and get help, but I don't want to leave her out here all alone. I decide to stay with her. I needed to watch over her. Widow was the last connection I had to my friends. I could not loose that. I stay with her until she wakes up the next day. She is able to stand up and dizzily walk into town where her wounds are dressed. She tells the townspeople of everything that had happened, and they let her rest.

It has been years since Widow was left an orphan. She married a man, who happened to also be the wolf that marked her all those years ago. Widow was also cursed to be a werewolf. They had a daughter named Anita. Once she was of age she showed signs of having the curse as well. Not long after Anita was born, hunters killed Widow's husband. She had to raise Anita all by herself, and I believe that she did a good job of it. Maybe she tried to suppress the wolf inside herself and Anita too much, but that is the only thing that I didn't agree with. Some more years later Anita ends up having a daughter, Red. Oh, she was the cutest little thing you ever did see.

In preparation for the time that Red would take on the curse Widow went in search of a wizard. She said that she has sought him out before and he would help her again. When she arrived back at the cottage she presented Anita a red cloak. It was said to prevent a werewolf from turning. Anita felt this was not necessary. She wanted her daughter to embrace her own wolf. This whole argument did not go well. It ended with Anita leaving. I never saw her again. We found out that the cloak did work, but only when Red was wearing it. As she got older she got more defiant. She would take her cloak off during the time of the wolf. It would almost always end in disaster.

One day, without even trying, I started to feel as if I had fingers. I was home alone, then. It was strange. I haven't been in my human form for over a century. As I look at all of my limbs I realize that I am dressed different than what I remember. I was dressed in a flowy, floor-length, yellow-orange dress, with a floor-length, blue-green hooded cloak. The inside of that cloak was a fur dyed to match the dress. It seemed so elegant. I remember that I had been dressed in peasant clothes. They had been dirty and rag-like. I like the change, but it didn't seem to make sense. Then again it had to do with my magic somehow. The slight weight on my neck reminded me of Mika's last gift. The pocket watch, which is supposed to keep me young as long as I keep it with me always, is still here. As I come to grips with my return to human form Widow comes into the cottage. She goes wide-eyed, and points her crossbow at me. I have not been able to speak in so long. Will I be able to now?

"Widow." I started. My voice crackles and scratches my throat. I turn to see the small bowl of water that I used to drink out of when I was a bird. I downed the sip of water and actually felt much better. "Widow, it is me." I point to the small water bowl in my hand. She finally realized that I was actually the parrot that had been in her family for a couple generations. She dropped the crossbow and ran to me, engulfing me in a hug. "Calm down dear." I said, still trying to get used to talking. I hugged her and rubbed her back.

"How can I calm down? My parrot just turned into a woman." She looked at me, and I knew that she was still very confused. I then started to tell her my story as we both sat down. I didn't tell her about Rumplestiltskin, but I told her about everything else. When I finished she just stared at me. Then she finally spoke. "You have had quite a life." I giggled.

"Yes, well, I guess I have." I looked down at the floor." When I first met your grandparents I promised myself that I would stay with their family until I figured out how to get back my human form. Now that the time has come I do not know if I want to go." She looked at me and placed a hand on my knee.

"Go, Ava. Go be free." I didn't know what to say. "You have served my family enough, and it is your time to find what you really want. You need to find the one that is out there for you, dear." I nodded and looked out the window. I realized that my life is just beginning. I can go anywhere and do anything now.

"You are right. I need to live my life and find the one that I am meant to be with." Widow smiled at me as we both stood up. "I will try to visit when I can." I said before exiting the cottage.

"Don't you worry about it. If your life leads you back here, then so be it. But do not change plans just to come back to visit." She smiled at me. I smiled back, but I was still hesitant. "Go" she said. "Get on with your life." I smiled and finally started to run off towards the forest and turn back into a parrot. It is the best form of transportation. It didn't know if I would ever see them again, but I felt in my soul that I would. It is finally time for me to get on with my life and find my true love.

 **A/N: Thank you for reading. Let me know what you think.**


	15. True North

**A/N: You don't have to read chapter 14 to get what happens in this chapter. I am so sorry that this took too long. I hope you like it.**

My dreams have gotten a bit weird as of late. Granny and Ruby had been in a recent one, but I didn't want to tell anyone. I woke up this morning at Archie's place. I got up at my usual time, which is too early for Archie, got ready and kissed him on the cheek before heading out. I forgot to bring my toothbrush over last night, and I don't have any mints or gum. I guess I have to go to the convenience store to fix that. After I deliver Granny's order I head to Mr. Clark's convenience store. I get there and see Henry talking to a couple kids. I don't want to interrupt Henry making friends so I head to the candy isle, which has the mints and gum I am looking for. I look for my favorite spearmint gum and turn to go pay for it. I then see that the boy is stuffing candy into Henry's backpack. Before I can get to the counter Mr. Clark goes to stop the kids from leaving the store.

"Where the hell do you think you're goin'?" He says as he stands between them and the door and sneezes. Then he points at Henry. "Open up your bag."

"What?" Henry asks

"Don't think I didn't see you rob me. Open your bag." I stand behind the kids as this all happens.

"But, I didn't take anything." Henry says.

"Henry, Just do it." I say. He looks back at me then hands Mr. Clark his bag. The man opens the bag and pulls out the candy I saw the boy stuff in there.

"And a liar too." I came closer as Henry turns to the girl.

"That's why you were talking to me." The poor kid thought he was making friends, but they were just using him. "So your brother could put that stuff in there." The two other kids looked down at the floor as Mr. Clark started to say something else.

"Henry," He said getting the boy's attention. "I'm shocked." Then he turned to the others. "And you two, just who do you think you are?" They looked at each other. Mr. Clark looked to me. "Could you keep an eye on them?" I nodded as he went to call the Sheriff. I stood in front of the kids.

"So, what are your names?" I asked the two kids I assumed were siblings.

"My name is Ava and his name is Nicholas." The girl replied.

"Wow, my name is Ava, too." I said as I crouched down to their level. "This must be some sort of sign. We were meant to meet each other." The girl's face brightened.

"You think so?"

"I know so." I said. They smiled at me as Mr. Clark came back over.

"Alright, I called the Mayor and the Sheriff. Would you like to buy that gum Miss Ava?" He asked me? I turned to him, took out some cash from my purse and handed it to him.

"Keep the change." I said. I hung out there until Emma and Regina get there. Regina showed up first She said that Henry doesn't eat candy, which is true. That is when Emma finally gets there. I open the door for her to come in. "What a nice start to the day, huh?" I start to banter with her. She smiles at me as she tries to get an idea of what is happening exactly. Regina takes Henry and leaves the store. "Hey, Emma?"

"Yeah?"

"I think there is something up with those two. If they need somewhere to go I can help with that." Emma looked at me like I was crazy, but then her face relaxed when she started to understand. That is when I decide to head to the bakery. "Bye Mr. Clark, Emma." I say to them. They wave to me as I walk out. I finally get to the bakery and see Archie waiting by the door. "Well good morning handsome." I said, as I got closer.

"Good morning to you too, gorgeous." He smiled at me. I looked to Pongo and smiled.

"I was actually talking to Pongo." I said as I started to giggle. Archie started to laugh a little as well. As I stopped right in front of him he embraced me in a hug.

"How did you sleep last night?" He asked me. I didn't sleep over Archie's place often, but we had started switching off.

"Good enough, I guess." I said as I turned to the door of the bakery to open it. "I forgot my toothbrush, though." We both walked inside the bakery as I opened the door. I put my handbag on the counter as I pulled out the pack of gum that I just bought. I stick a piece in my mouth and enjoy the minty goodness. I then go over to my jar of doggie treats and pull one out for Pongo. "Maybe I should just buy one to keep at your place." I say as I give Pongo his treat. I look up at Archie when he didn't say anything back to me. "Are you okay, Arch?" He looked to be a bit panicked.

"Yes, I'm fine." He smiles at me. "I can get you a toothbrush the next time I go grocery shopping." I could see sweat starting to drip down the left side of his face.

"Archie are you sure you are okay?" I am sure my face shows concern because I am concerned. "Archie, it's just a toothbrush." I say. We have only been dating for around a month. It's not like I am moving into his place right now. Plus, his place is kind of small. If anything he would probably move in with me.

"I know, I know." He looks down and then out the door. "Listen, Would you like to go out to dinner tonight? Not at Granny's?"

"Like at a fancy place where I have to get dressed up?" He looked into my eyes pleadingly. "I'd love to." I smiled, and he did too.

"Great. I'll walk you home to get changed after work, and we can go after that." He seemed so excited, and it just made me smile more.

"Sounds good. I'll see you then." He smiled back at me as he walked out the door. Then as I was left alone to think about it, I started to panic. Do I have anything to wear? I don't usually go out wearing something nice. I'm always working, so I have never cared. "Crap. I need something to wear." I immediately called Mary Margaret. It took only two rings for her to pick up.

"Hey, Ava." She greeted.

"M&M, Archie is taking me on a date to somewhere really nice tonight, and I have literally nothing to wear." I said really fast hoping she would understand me.

"Alright calm down. I think I have something you can wear. Why don't you come by on your lunch break, and we can figure it out." Talking to her always calmed me down. She always seemed levelheaded. We hung up and I went through my day as usual. When lunchtime came I turned everything off, locked up and headed to see if Mary Margaret could help me. I got to her apartment door and before I even knocked Emma opened the door.

"Hi." I said. She backed up enough for me to walk inside. "What's up?" I ask. I look around the apartment, and my eyes land on the two kids that were in the convenience store this morning. "What are they doing here?" I whispered to Emma.

"They had me drive them 'home' and it wasn't their real place." We both looked to the kids. "Their mother died and they never knew their dad."

"That's horrible." I walked up to them and they looked at me. "How have you two been living by yourselves?" then I realized that they probably just shoplifted whatever they needed. "Never mind, don't tell me." I sat down across from them. I started to talk to them as Emma whispered about them with Mary Margaret. Suddenly Ava walks over to the two other women.

"We're gonna be separated?" Ava says. She sounds like she is about to cry, so I immediately go to her engulfing her in a hug.

"No, that's not gonna happen." I say in a soft voice.

"Please, please don't let it." Ava pleads to Emma as Mary Margaret looks at me wondering why I would promise a child something that probably wouldn't come true.

"Hey," I said as I looked down at Ava. "Do you want to help me pick out an outfit for my date tonight?" That made the girl smile, but it didn't reach her eyes. Then I looked over at M&M. "Show us to your closet, madam." I said in a sort of snooty stuck up voice. Ava giggled a little bit as Mary Margaret brought us into her room to look through her clothes. I tried on a bunch of different outfits, and finally found a nice yellow-orange flowy halter-top dress. It reaches just above my knee. I pair it with a large blue-green silk shawl and matching flats. I turn to Mary Margaret. "How do I look?" She looks at me, and she smiles.

"You look amazing." She said. Then I turned to my name twin.

"What do you think? Is she right?" The little girl smiled and nodded. "Alright. I think we have a winner." I take everything off and put on my work clothes. I still had about half the day of work. "I have to run to the bakery. I'll bring some cookies by with me for the kiddies when I get back." I joked as I left. I put the clothes in my apartment and rushed to the bakery. I picked up some of the frosted cookies for the kids and rushed back to M&M's place to drop off the treats. I was sick of running, so I just walked back to the bakery to open up for the rest of the day. As I got everything up and running again the bell over my door rang.

"You took quite a long break for lunch, dearie." I looked towards the counter to see Mr. Gold.

"Yeah, I had a crisis to iron out, and I had Mary Margaret help me." I said as I walked up to the counter. "Are you spying on me?" I said with a big smile. He smiled back.

"Maybe a little." I giggled as I set up the display as I waited for him to continue. "I was wondering if you would reconsider that gift I offered you." I stood up straight to look at him.

"Why?" I wanted to know why he would just want to gift me something. Before, he offered it to me because he wanted to get back on my good side. Why would he want to give it to me now?

"It was a gift I intended to give you eventually. Since you didn't choose to take it when you were upset with me, I thought that you would take it now that we are on good terms again." I had to take a second to comprehend what he had just said.

"You were planning on gifting it to me before that?"

"Of course, if I had asked you out I would have given it to you on the first date." I looked down at the counter. It had been a while since I thought about him asking me out. About how he receded into himself when Archie had come into the shop to ask the same question. "I just wanted you to have it, Ava." I looked back up at him. His eyes showed genuine feelings. He really loves me, and he really wants me to have this piece of jewelry.

"Um, well, I'm a bit busy. I can come by and look at it in a few days. Maybe if I look at it I'll change my mind." It seemed like that answer was satisfactory to him because he smiled and held out his hand to me. "You want to shake on it?" I asked. It was a bit amusing that he would want to shake my hand on a sort of wishy washy deal of me just coming by the shop to look at a piece of jewelry that I might not even want. He nodded so I took his hand, but instead of shaking my hand he brought the back of my hand up to his lips. My eyes go wide. Is he really doing that? What time are we in? This isn't medieval times, is it? I thought chivalry was dead? He finally releases my hand and looks up at me.

"I look forward to seeing you when you come in, dearie." He says and he walks out of the bakery. I just stand there awestruck until someone else comes into the store. I look to the door to see that Henry is walking to the counter.

"Hey, Henry, how's it going?" I said still in sort of a daze.

"Good. Are you okay Miss Ava?" I finally snapped out of it and looked down at the boy as he made his way to the counter.

"Yeah, of course I'm okay." I get a cupcake out for the boy as he sits at one of the tables. I sit down with him and he breaks out his big 'Once Upon A Time' book.

"I went back and looked for you in the stories." He said. He turned to a page that had a cricket with a top hat and umbrella, and a colorful parrot. "This is you." He points at the parrot. I giggle a little bit.

"I'm this parrot?" The boy nodded. "Henry, why would I be a bird? I am clearly a human."

"That's what Archie said when I told him he was Jiminy Cricket." His finger slid over to the dressed up cricket next to the parrot. "You didn't start out as a parrot. You were human." He then turned to a page more towards the front of the large book. It looked like me in a busy bakery. "You worked at a bakery, just like you do now." I just looked at the pages in the book. I started reading the story that went along with the picture and it sounded an awful lot like one of the dreams that I had.

"This reminds me of one of the dreams I had." I whispered.

"You have dreams about this?" The boy asks. I look up from the book and smile at him. "You're dreaming about your past Miss Ava." I hate to say the kid is on to something, but how could I be dreaming about this stuff when I haven't even read this book before. "You are more of a background character throughout some of the stories, though." He turned to another page where a parrot could be seen in the far background, then another and another page. Most of it was a bird flying in the sky. "It looks like you're trying to find something." It's almost like my dreams were starting to make sense to me.

"That's because I was." I whispered. I looked towards the door and got up to flip the open sign to closed. "Let me look at that." I took the book as I sat down. I started flipping through the stories just to look at the photos. Then I came across a picture of the enchantress that was supposed to be me with a man. He looked an awful lot like the man in my dreams. What was his name? I looked to the words on the opposite page. That is when I found it. "Rumplestiltskin" I sighed as I gently brushed the pad of my finger over his depiction. A smile made it's way on my face. I was so absorbed in all of this that I barely heard the bell over my door ring.

"Hey, Archie." Henry said. That is what pulled my gaze from the book and to the man that had just entered my bakery. "I figured out who Miss Ava is." Henry had the biggest smile on his face.

"Oh, yeah?" Archie said back. Then he looked to me. "Who does our little friend think you are?" He asked me. I looked back at the book then flipped to the first picture that Henry had shown me. I then pointed to the parrot next to the cricket.

"I am this bird, apparently." I didn't want him to think that I believed Henry, but so many things were making sense.

"Does it have anything to do with him thinking that I am this cricket?" He smiled.

"At first, yes." Henry answered. Then it hit me.

"What time is it?" I looked at the clock. It was after six o'clock. "We're supposed to go out to dinner." I sprung up and turned the warmers and ovens off. Threw away the food that wouldn't keep until tomorrow and grabbed my belongings. The three of us exited the bakery and I locked up. I decided that I would drop Henry off with Emma and Mary Margaret, so he came along with Archie and I. We walked up the stars to the level of my apartment, but we walked over to Mary Margaret's first. I knocked and Mary Margaret opened the door. "Hey, M&M. Is Emma here?" Henry ran past all of us and into the apartment.

"No, she's out." I looked past her and saw that Ava and her brother were still there.

"Why are they still here?" I whispered.

"Emma found their father and is trying to get him to take them." She said to me. Then, Henry comes up behind Mary Margaret.

"Miss Ava? Could you bake some brownies with us?" You see Henry decided to tell Ava and Nicholas that I ran the local bakery. I did give them cookies earlier, but I hadn't told them that I baked sweets for a living. I looked from Henry, up to Mary Margaret, and than I turned around to look at Archie. He nodded at me as he pulled out his phone. He had to cancel the reservation at the fancy restaurant that we were planning to eat at. I have always had a soft spot for kids, and I can't deny the children the cookies that they desire. I turned back to Henry and smiled.

"I can do that. Just give me a few minutes. I have to talk to Archie for a second." I said. I turned back to Archie as Mary Margaret walked back into her apartment, leaving the door open. Archie hung up his phone and turned to look at me. "I'm sorry about tonight, Archie."

"Don't be sorry." He said, smiling down at me.

"I just feel terrible." I said as I hugged him. He hugged me back and rested his head on top of mine. "We can try this again some other time, right?" I said as I looked up at him.

"Of course." He smiled down at me. We kissed and he left to go home, or to Granny's. I walked through the open door of Mary Margaret's apartment, and started to make some cookie dough with the three kids that were there. We finally got a good consistency of the brownie batter when Mary Margaret got a call on her cell.

"Hello?" She answered as she walked away from our group. "Is everything okay?" she asked to the person on the other end of the line. She turned to look at me as the kids started to lick the batter off of the mixer attachments. I nodded to her, and she grabbed her coat and headed outside.

"Where is Miss Blanchard going?" Henry asks me. I look over at him as I think of how I was going to be vague. I had a feeling that it had been Emma on the other end of that call, and if she didn't want to talk in front of the kids that means there was bad news for Ava and Nicholas.

"She just went out for a walk. She'll be back soon." I said as I looked for a good baking pan for cooking the brownies. I found a nice glass one and the three kids helped pour the batter into the pan. I popped the pan in the oven and set a timer. Then we just sat and waited in a slightly awkward silence. The timer finally signaled that the brownies were finished baking, so I took the pan out using oven mitts. I set the pan in top of the stove and set the timer again for them to cool. The front door opened as the timer went off again. I looked to the door. It was Mary Margaret, Emma, and Mayor Mills.

"Henry, What are you doing here?" Regina asked. What a great mother she is?

"He stopped into the bakery earlier. I didn't want to send him home alone, so he's been with me." Regina just glared at me.

"My son can take care of himself. You don't need to play mother hen with him." Another bird reference, what is her deal? Then she turns her attention to the other kids. "Get your stuff. Sherriff Emma is going to take you to some people who are going to help you find a home." They did not like that idea, and Ava came over and hugged me around the middle.

"Please, don't let her take us away." She sounded like she was crying. I separated her from me and I crouched down to her level.

"Look, I think that this is going to be the best thing for the two of you right now. If I was able to take care of you by myself, I would, but I can barely support myself." She understood, but she still wasn't happy. Ava and her brother gathered their things as I cut some brownies for the two to take with them on their journey. I bagged up the brownies and gave them each a bag. Emma and Regina walked all three kids outside. I didn't want to really say goodbye, so I didn't want to go outside with them. I just hung around the apartment with Mary Margaret until Emma came back.

"Hey" Mary Margaret says as her and I fold some clothes. Emma walks towards us.

"What happened?" I asked. I wanted to know if the kids were going to be okay.

"Their dad," She said as she sat down on the bed next to us. ", he showed up." She laid back onto the bed. "He changed his mind." That made me smile.

"Changed his mind." Mary Margaret said. It seemed like she couldn't believe it. "Just like that?" I picked up another shirt to fold.

"He might have had a little nudge." Emma replied.

"They found their father." Mary Margaret's smile couldn't get any bigger. "That's great."

"I wonder what that would be like?" Emma said as she leaned up on her elbows.

"Maybe you'll find out." I said.

"You can't give up." Mary Margaret added on.

"I don't know." Emma said. "Kinda think giving up might be best plan. I think I need to let go."

"No you don't." I said.

"Really? If they wanted to know me they wouldn't make it so hard to look." Emma was giving up the hope of ever finding her parents.

"Maybe." Mary Margaret said. "But, maybe there's other reasons. Maybe there is an explanation."

"If there is it's something crazy." Emma says as she lays back down on the bed again. "Something even crazier than Henry's theory."

"What's Henry's theory?" I ask. The boy had only told me things about my role in his book.

"Well, that my parents put me in a magical wardrobe, and sent me to this world to save them."

"Aww." Mary Margaret sounds off. "And who does he think they are?"

"Well, for one," Emma says as she sits up and looks to Mary Margaret. "You" Wow.

"Me?" M&M seemed to be just as baffled.

"Well, Snow White." Emma clarifies.

"Since when does Snow White have a kid?" I say. It wasn't the story that was told in the Disney movie. Then again the movie sort of ends with Snow White getting married to Prince Charming. I guess it isn't such a stretch to think that they would have a kid.

"Apparently that book you gave him," She says to Mary Margaret. "Not exactly the stories in the most traditional sense." We all smiled at that.

"I have a kid." M&M said almost in awe at the thought of having a kid. "You'd think I'd remember that."

"Yeah, you'd think." Emma agrees. I looked at the both of them.

"You know, you kind of have her chin." I say. To be honest their chins were pretty similar.

"I think I need to get some air." Emma said as she stood up. "I'm gonna go think." She walked to the living area as Mary Margaret and I followed her.

"If you're gonna be back late I can wait to eat with you." M&M offered.

"No, don't do that." Emma replied.

"I'll leave you leftovers." Mary Margaret and I stood by the stairs up to the second level. A box, of what I assumed were Emma's belongings, sitting by the stairs. "What a pretty blanket." Emma turned from the door and looked at us.

"Thanks. Goodnight." Emma said as she left, shutting the door behind her. Mary Margaret pulled the blanket out of the box and looked at the name stitched into the crocheted blanket.

"Hey, I got to get to bed." I said to my friend as I pick up my things and head towards the door. "I'll see you tomorrow." I smiled at her and she smiled back. I entered my own apartment and collapsed on my bed. Before I go to bed I set my alarm to wake me up and look outside. Emma is leaning against the Sheriff's cruiser talking to Henry. Suddenly, the sound of a motorcycle erupts from the silence. The motorcycle parks across the street from Emma and Henry as he takes off his helmet and dismounts his ride and walks towards them. He asked Emma something and then got back on his motorcycle and rode off farther down the road. Hmm. We don't get a lot of new comers in Storybrooke. He looked kind of cute. I wonder who he is.

 **A/N: Thank you for reading. I hope you liked it.**


	16. 7:15 AM

**A/N: Yay another chapter up. I hope you like it. I'm going to start the next chapter after I upload this one. Happy reading.**

 **Remember I do not own anything from the show. I only own Ava.**

"Miss Birdie, do you think you will have any extra cookies today?" The small boy said as he sat beside me. I have tried to get him to call me by my actual name, but I guess his nickname for me just stuck. I was on a break and I brought some food with me to where Geppetto and Pinocchio were working on some sort of wooden crafts.

"I think I can do that." I said between bites. "What kind is your favorite?" I asked. He smiled up at me and it made my heart sink a little. I missed my little girl. Belle had lived with Rumplestiltskin and I for less than a year, and I feel like such a failure. No matter what Rumple has said to me, on the subject of me being a parent, I have never forgiven myself for what happened between Belle and I.

"I like sugar cookies." The boy said, snapping me out of my thoughts. I smiled at him.

"Sugar cookies it is then." That is when I stood up and brushed the crumbs from my dress. "I will save you a couple cookies, Pin." I turned to the door after waving goodbye to Geppetto and Pinocchio.

"Bye bye, Birdie." He boy said before the door closed, and I made my way back to the kitchen.

My eyes slowly opened. It has been a long time since I woke up on my own. I looked at my alarm clock. I woke up about five minutes before it went off. That means that I have five minutes to just lie in bed and enjoy the comfort. I was so comfortable that I almost fell back to sleep. That is when my alarm finally went off. I groan as I pull myself from the bed to turn it off and get ready for the day. I go about my usual schedule. After I deliver Granny's order, and grabbing a bite to eat, I open up shop at the bakery. By that time it was around 10 in the morning. The first things I made were the cookies for the display case. The dream that I had last night had me thinking about sugar cookies, so I started to snack on some as I made everything else. Around noon the bell above my door rings. I look to see whom the person was that entered. It's the man that rode a motorcycle into town.

"Hey, stranger." I said as I lean on the counter. "Have you come to sample the locally baked goods?" I asked, jokingly. He laughed slightly as he walked up to the counter.

"You could say that." He leaned on the counter across from me. "I got a recommendation from someone. Apparently you are the one to talk to if I want to get a really good sugar cookie." That is when I suddenly stood up with my mouth hanging open. It can't be a coincidence. The boy in my dream last night, his favorite type of cookie was sugar. The man stood up and looked at me with interest. "Is something wrong?"

"No, no. It's just that I dreamt about a boy who really liked sugar cookies just last night. It drove me to make too many of them this morning." I said as I bagged up a couple sugar cookies for the man. "It just seems like it was some sort of sign or something." I pushed the bag of cookies across the counter. I looked up at his face, and he had the biggest smile on his face. "That's gonna be five dollars." He pulled out his wallet and passed me a crisp five. He picked up the bag and turned to leave. "Wait." I said before he made it all the way out the door. "What's your name?" He turned back to look at me with a smile.

"The name's August." He said simply. "There's a storm coming. You might want to pack up early today." He said before turning back to the outside. "Bye bye, Birdie." He whispered, but I could still hear what he said. It hit me. There was something familiar about this man. There was a reason that I had that dream last night. I stood at the counter thinking about the dream and the man named August. Both the little boy and August liked sugar cookies, and they both said goodbye to me in the same way. Thunder brought my attention back to the present. I looked outside to see that rain had started to fall, and the wind started to blow through town. August was right. I started to close up shop, but I didn't want to be alone. Instead of possibly interrupting one of Archie's sessions I head to Mr. Gold's shop.

"Mr. Gold?" I said a little louder than I usually do as thunder rolled outside. I walked a little farther inside as the man came out from the back.

"Hello, dearie." He said as he realized who had made their way into his shop. Then he looked outside. "A bit stormy out there?" He smiled at me.

"Yeah. I had to close up shop. There's no one venturing out in a storm for a cookie." I said in jest. "I decided to take you up on that offer. The one where you wanted me to look at a piece of jewelry." I probably wasn't going to take it, but I wanted to see what he was willing to gift me.

"Ah, yes. Let me go get it." He went to his back room as I made myself comfortable. I walked around and looked at some of the objects in the display cases. There were knives, swords, jewelry, and a lot of other random things. I looked up towards the things hanging from the ceiling. Across the room I spotted a birdcage. It seemed familiar, so I walked up to it. As I got closer I realized why it looked so familiar. It was the cage from one of my dreams. I had been kept in it when some pirates captured me. I turned around to see if Mr. Gold was back yet, and he was just standing behind one of the display case counters.

"Where did you get that cage?" I asked as I walked back towards him. His expression showed that he didn't want to talk about it. He looked towards the ground, and his mouth stayed in a fairly straight line. He was not frowning or smiling, and it was intriguing to me. "Why don't you want to talk about it?" He then looked back up at me.

"I don't remember where I got it from, but I keep it as a reminder." He finally answered me.

"A reminder of what?" Does he keep it as a reminder to remember where he gets his entire inventory?

"It is a reminder to not let myself or my loved ones to be anywhere against their will again." He looked longingly into my eyes. Is he hoping for me to understand something? I broke his stare and looked back at the cage.

"In one of my dreams there was a cage, just like that one." I said. "Somehow I was inside it." I turned back to him as I looked down at the long jewelry box in his hands. "Is that it?" I asked him. He also looked down at the box in his hands.

"Why, yes, it is." He said smiling at me. He was about to open the box when someone came into the shop. I turned around to see Archie. He was drenched.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" I asked as I walked up to him.

"Well, I thought I would keep you company at the bakery until the storm passed." He answered. "But, you weren't there. I was just walking by when I saw that you were here, and I decided to stop in." I smiled up at him and took his glasses from his face. I wanted to get the water off of them

"Do you have a cloth to wipe these off, Archie?" I asked him. He reached into one of his pockets and fished out a cloth to clean his glasses. I used it and wiped the water droplets off of the lenses. I pass the frames back to him clean and dry. I look back at Mr. Gold. If looks could kill, Archie would be dead many times over. "Um, Archie," I say looking back at him. "Why don't I come over to your place later." Archie looked down at me and nodded. I know I just cleaned off his glasses, but I didn't want these two men to have some sort of grudge against each other. I feel as though the grudge is one sided. Archie is totally oblivious to the fact that Mr. Gold had feelings for me. Both men are my friends, and I don't want one to hate the other.

"Okay," Archie smiled at me, and he left as he opened his umbrella. The umbrella didn't really work with the rain traveling almost horizontal to the ground, though. I finally turned back to Mr. Gold.

"You can at least act civil with him." I said to him. "You are acting like a child." I glared at him. I walked up to him. I looked him in the eye, and I shoved the long jewelry box back towards him on the counter. "Whatever this is I don't want it." I turned around and headed out the door. I was so mad at that man. I couldn't stand around and watch as Mr. Gold glared at Archie. It's his own fault that I'm with Archie and not him. I don't know how many times I have to say that to myself. For some reason, I had to keep reminding myself of that.

When I stopped walking I found myself in front of Granny's diner. I walked in, not wanting to go see Archie being so pissed off. I looked around and found that the diner was empty except for the staff and one person in a booth. Their back was to the door. I sat at the counter and waited for Ruby or Granny to come take my order. Suddenly a mug of hot coco and a sugar cookie was placed in front of me. I looked up at Granny, confusion clearly on my face. She nodded to the man at the booth behind me. I looked at the man and saw the man named August. I picked up the cookie and hot coco to sit in the booth across from him.

"Rough day?" He said.

"I guess you could say that." I said as I dipped the cookie in the hot coco and nibbled on it.

"It seems like you are having guy trouble." How did this guy know that? He hasn't seen me interact with anyone. I looked up at him waiting for him to say something else. "I know that look in your eyes. It's the look a lot of men get when they're having girl trouble." That doesn't make any sense to me, but I guess I can just go with the flow here.

"Do you have any advice for me?" I asked giggling a little.

"What is the situation exactly?" He asked.

"Well, I'm dating one of them, and the other one is a friend. The friend, I found out, has feelings for me." I explained simply before taking a sip from my warm beverage.

"Ah." He nodded. "That's a tough one."

"Yeah, I know right?"

"Look, I think that you need to sit both of them down, and the three of you need to talk everything out. Maybe then the whole thing can get sorted." I don't know if I could do that with the two men, but eventually I might have to do that. I looked up at the door when the bell rang out. It was Emma. I smiled up at her as I brought my beverage back up to my lips. She takes her hat off as she comes closer. Her attention is more directed towards August.

"We need to talk." She says.

"Why?" August replies.

"Because you're suspicious." I said as I giggled. Emma came to stand next to me, and faced August. The man smiled at me and then looked up at Emma.

"Sitting here? Out in the open? Drinking coffee?" Him being suspicious didn't have anything to do with what was happening right now. It was the fact that he was the only person to visit Storybrooke for a long time, besides Emma of course. "I wonder what kind of hell I would've raised had I ordered a donut."

"You should, they're really good." He looked at me with a smirk. "Maybe I'm biased, though." I smiled back.

"You were talking to Henry." Emma said, getting August to pay attention to her again.

"You mean the little kid who came up to me, asking me questions?" That didn't seem odd for Henry to do. "Is that unusual for him, being curious and precocious?"

"Nope." I piped up.

"I don't need your help, Ava." Emma said to me still looking at the man across from me. "What were you doing outside his house?"

"My bike broke down. It happens." Another slight pause happens and Emma looks down at the box on the floor next to August's feet.

"Your mysterious box." What about the box? It doesn't look like anything special. "What's in it?" Maybe it's because my friend is a pawnshop owner, but I happen to know what is in that box. I let out a slight laugh. August looked at me and put a finger to his lips telling me not to say what was actually in the box. I smiled and nodded.

"It's awfully frustrating, not knowing, isn't it?" August said looking to Emma.

"Just tell me." Emma says.

"Why? Is it illegal to carry around a box?" I said with amusement present in my voice.

"No, of course it's not. Again, I don't need your help, and neither does he." That just made me smile, as I took another sip of my drink.

"You really want to know what's inside it don't you?" He asks.

"No." Wow, talk about defensive. "Well, maybe." I moved in towards the wall and patted the booth seat signaling Emma to just sit down, and she did.

"I'm gonna make you wait." August says. "You're gonna have to wait a long time, and watch me carry it around, hauling it to strange and mysterious places. And with each passing moment the mystery will become more tantalizing." August said as Emma started to lean in towards him. "Your imagination will enflame, and so will your frustration. Never knowing, only guessing, what could possibly be inside that box." August then leans in towards Emma. I just looked between the two of them feeling like a third wheel. "Or, you could let me buy you a drink sometime and I'll tell you right now." Wow, is he flirting with her?

"You wanna buy me a drink?" Emma responded.

"Yes."

"Mkay, a drink it is." She said. August leans back, grabs the box and puts it on the table. He undoes the clasps holding it closed and opens it. What was inside is exactly what I thought was inside. A typewriter. "Really?" Emma asks. I giggle a little, and she shoots me a glare.

"I'm a writer." August clarifies.

"That's why you're here?" Emma asks.

"I find this place provides inspiration. Don't you?" Emma just looks at him as he closes the box.

"Wait." Emma says as August gets up from the booth. "Have you been here before?"

"I didn't say that." August pays for his coffee and my hot coco and walks towards the hallway that leads to the bed and breakfast part of Granny's. Emma turns in her seat to look at him.

"What about that drink?"

"I said sometime." He replied, and he continued down the hall and out of sight. Emma continued to look at the spot he was last visible.

"Look, I know that you think he is super mysterious, but I need to go." I said getting Emma's attention. She turned to me, and then she grasped what I was trying to ask her. She was blocking my exit from the booth, and I was not going to slip under the table like a child.

"Oh. Of course." She got up and let me out.

"Hey, I get good vibes from him. I don't think he's dangerous, if that is why you are 'investigating' him." I say to her.

"It's not me, it's Regina. She got a bit spooked when she saw someone, that she doesn't know, talking to Henry."

"Ah." I nodded. I then looked out the window and the storm cleared up. The sun was out again. The nice weather made me smile. "I'll see you later, Sheriff." I waved to her and left the diner. Because of the nice weather change I went to meet up with Archie at his place, and we decided to go out for a walk with Pongo. We walked and talked about everything. I didn't want to tell him that Mr. Gold had feelings for me. I think that saying such a thing would make things a bit weird between us. I knew that something had to be done, but I think it can wait a little longer. I just wanted to enjoy the day with Archie.

As it got darker we decided that it was time to go home. Archie walked me home, and we kissed goodbye as he headed to his own place. All in all this day didn't turn out too bad. I got ready for bed, made myself something small to eat and headed to bed.

 **A/N: Thank you for reading. I hope you liked it. I love getting all of your reviews, and it helps me try and get these chapters out for you guys. Again, thank you for taking the time to read.**


	17. Fruit of the Poisonous Tree

**A/N: Thank you all for your patience. Here is a treat for you all. I have been only getting one day off a week at work, and I don't get a lot of time to do much. I hope to update more of this story and my other story in the next week.**

It's been a few days since August showed Emma the typewriter in his mysterious box, and nothing has really happened. I haven't visited with Mr. Gold since that stormy day.

Archie told me that he had a session with Henry this morning, so I got Henry's usual after session treat ready. The bell rung and I turned to see the boy himself. He had a huge smile on his face.

"Hey, Henry. How did your session go today?" I said leaning on the counter.

"It was okay."

"Just okay? You seem very bright and cheery today." He sat down at one of the tables and I joined him.

"I thought that the book had been destroyed or taken during the storm." He answered.

"The 'Once Upon A Time' book?" He nodded his head.

"When I looked this morning, it was still there." I looked at him with curiosity.

"Still, where?" I thought that it was interesting that he hadn't dragged the book around recently. In fact I don't think that I have seen it since Henry said that he figured out who I was.

"I put it in a box and buried it at the castle." My face dropped.

"Henry, is it still there?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I saw some bulldozers and other heavy machinery heading towards the beach." Henry's face fell and he ran out of my shop, hopped on his bike, and rode in the direction of the beach and his castle. I stood right outside my door as I watched him ride down the street. When I could no longer see the boy I turned around only to receive a jump scare. I grabbed my chest and tried to catch my breath.

"I didn't mean to scare you Miss Ava." Said the man I had not visited since the storm. Mr. Gold had a slightly amused smirk on his face.

"What do you want?" I said as I turned to head back into the bakery. He followed me inside as he answered my question.

"I would like to ask for your forgiveness." He said.

"I hope you don't have that necklace box with you, cuz you know what I am going to say to that." I said turning around after putting my apron on. I saw him reaching into a pocket on the inside of his nice black suit jacket. "Don't you dare even pull that out of your pocket." His face sort of scrunched together in confusion. He pulled out a neatly folded piece of paper and a nice pen.

"It's not a piece of jewelry, Ava." He unfolded the paper and I recognized it.

"This is," I started to say, but he cut me off.

"Yes, this is the contract that you signed for the loan to the bakery." Now I was the one who was confused. Then he pulled out another paper and placed it next to the loan contract. "And this paper is to transfer the deed."

"So, what do you want me to do with these papers?" I think I know what's happening, but I needed him to clarify.

"This one," He points to the first paper he pulled out. "States that the loan that I granted you, to pay for this lovely bakery, is completely forgiven." My eyes went wide. "And this one," He points to the second paper. "Transfers the deed to the bakery is completely yours. Once you sign these papers you will not have to pay me anything more." I looked from him to the papers and I just could not believe this was actually happening. I picked up the loan forgiveness paper and started to read everything. It was straightforward, and didn't consist of a lot of lawyer lingo. I was as he said. This paper would mean that the rest of the loan was forgiven. I looked to him and he held out his pen to me. I took it and signed the loan paper. I looked to the deed paper and read it closely. It was straightforward like the loan paper. I signed that paper as well.

"Could I get a copy of these?" I asked as he started to gather both of them up.

"Certainly. I have to bring the deed transfer to City Hall to get everything notarized and finalized. I can get you a copy of these pages there." He said. I looked at him and squinted my eyes. He noticed my skepticism. "If you would like you can come along with me." He said.

"Yeah. Just let me close up." I said he nodded and sat at one of the tables. I turned off the ovens and put the cash drawer in my safe. I took off my apron and took all of my stuff and the both of us headed out of the bakery and towards the city hall. We didn't talk the entire way there. We arrived at City Hall and everything went smoothly, and I got a copy of both papers. We then walked back to the bakery. Mr. Gold walked in behind me and sat at one of the tables again as I set everything back up. I don't really know what to say to him. With those papers signed I have no debt to him. I really hope this isn't a trick. If it were, I would not forgive him for as long as I live.

"I can see that you are still confused, dearie." He said from his seat. I turned to him and put my hands on my hips.

"Of course I am." I say. I make sure that everything is set up before I sit across from him. "I keep waiting for this to be a trick, or a dream, or… I don't know. I know that you have always treated me differently than the other people in this town, but this seems a bit much just to get back on good terms with me." I say as I look at him. He has a sly little smirk on his face. I squint my eyes and point at him. "Like that smile. It comes off as sly and sneaky, like you are going to take back all the paperwork and rip it up in front of me." His face fell. "It's like you are keeping something from me."

"It is not meant to come off that way, I assure you." He says.

"Yes, well, that is why people are so afraid of doing dealings with you."

"That is not why people are afraid of dealing with me." He retorts. I just look at him, and he looks away from me.

"Then there _is_ something that you aren't telling me." He continued to avoid looking at me. "If you really want me to trust you again you need to tell me everything. You are an unreadable man, which is an oxymoron. I can always tell if men are lying. I could tell when Graham was upset just by one simple action. I can tell when Archie lies about having a session with someone just to have a little alone time or to take a nap. I can even tell that David's feelings for Kathryn are not true." He slowly turned to me. "But, you, I can never tell what you are planning, what you are feeling, what you're thinking. You are a blank slate. It is like you don't want to let anyone into your world. Then you do things like this and it makes me think that you are trying to get someone to understand. You want me to understand, and to do that I need to know more than you are telling me." I stand up and walk behind the counter to start making more pastries and treats. "When you are ready to tell me everything is when I will truly start to trust you again." I put my hair up into a messy bun as I looked back at him. He got up from his seat.

"I wish I could, but I can't." He said to me. "At least not yet." Then he walked out of the bakery that was now completely mine. I looked around the place as I took a deep breath. It was nice to finally own this place, but I wanted Mr. Gold to let me in. He has obviously been trying to pull me into his world, but he also didn't want me in it at the same time. What a confusing man.

That night I called up Archie to tell him the news and to say that I needed a day or two to just think about the direction my life was going. I am sure he could read between the lines that something was off about me, but thankfully he left it alone. I went to bed thinking about Mr. Gold and his amazing gift. The bakery was finally mine. I can't get enough of saying it.

The next day I woke up late, but I didn't care. My world was turned upside down yesterday. I got dressed in some sweatpants and a tank top. As I sluggishly walked to Granny's diner and sat at the counter.

"No delivery today, Ava?" Granny said in front of me. I looked up at her smiling face. She set a glass of orange juice in front of me.

"Sorry, no, I'm sort of taking the day off." I said. She smiled even bigger and handed me a menu.

"Oh don't worry about it, I know all about what happened. Doctor Hopper came in and told me what you told him." I smirk and take a sip of the OJ.

"What a big mouth he has." I say and she starts to laugh lightly. I look to the menu and order the pancakes. She walks away as the bell on the door rings. I look over to see Henry. He comes in and sits to my left. He pulls out a couple sheets of paper and a blue marker. I watch as he starts to draw people and label them. They were the characters from his book. "Hey, Henry, whatcha got there?" I ask. He looks up at me with sad eyes.

"My mother took down the castle and I can't find the book." Then he leans in close to me to whisper. "I think she is hiding it from me." I ask him no more questions and start to eat the food that is set in front of me. I feel like someone is staring at me so I look to my left and there is August, the writer. He smiles at me as he looks down at Henry's drawings. I look too and now there is a crudely drawn bird labeled Ava.

"Whatcha workin' on?" August asks Henry. The boy doesn't even look up at the man as he answers.

"Uh, no time to talk. Gotta write it all down before I forget." He continues to draw figures and label them.

"Yeah, I hate it when great ideas slip away from me." As a writer he would know. I continue to eat my pancakes as August tries to talk to Henry.

"They're not my ideas." The boy says. "They're stories from a book that I lost." August sits on the last stool on the other side of Henry.

"Must be a hell of a book."

"Language." I warn the man. I know that Henry is no stranger to foul language, but I like to try and keep it away from him when I'm around. August just smiles up at me.

"What's it about?" August asks as he looks over the drawings and names on the page that Henry currently has in front of him.

"Stuff." The boy says. I giggle a bit at that.

"Sounds exciting." He says in response.

"You seem awfully interested in me and my book." Henry says finally looking up from his paper to look at August.

"No, I'm just being neighborly." Yeah, well, people don't really take Henry and his book too seriously.

"What are you doing in Storybrooke?" The boy asks.

"I'm a writer."

"You can write anywhere. What are you really doing here?" The kid has a point. I looked to the man and waited for his answer. He got really close to Henrys ear and whispered.

"Stuff." Then he gets up and walks towards the door to the diner, but before he gets too far he leans in between Henry and I. "Good luck with the stories." And with that, he goes on his merry way to do goodness knows what. I look back at Henry and he has already gone back to writing down the characters and their stories. I finish up my meal and pay before walking out and heading towards the park. I sit in the park for a few hours and then walk back to town. I walk by the City Hall and see that there is a council meeting going on. I have nothing else to do today, so I might as well sit in on it. I head into the large meeting room and take a seat next to none other than Sherriff Emma Swan. We nod to each other as the meeting starts.

"This session of the Storybrooke City council will come to order. We will begin by reading the minutes from our last meeting." The mayor says.

"Excuse me, um, madam mayor." Sydney Glass says as he stands up into the isle holding some papers in his hands. "I-I have something I'd like to bring to the council's attention." What could that be? I looked to the mayor to see her response.

"This is not an open forum, Sydney. And no one on this council's interested in hearing the boozy complaints of a disgraced reporter." Wow. Harsh, much? "Now, sit down." That's when I see Emma stand up next to Sydney.

"He's not the only one who has something to say." She takes the papers from Sydney.

"Miss Swan, this meeting is to discuss issues facing Storybrooke." The mayor says.

"Like the Mayor stealing thousands of dollars from the city to build herself a second home?" My mouth dropped open as I looked to the mayor. Is that really true? The mayor's face dropped, and everyone started to murmer and whisper about if this was really true. The mayor banged the gavel to get everyone's attention back. I looked across the isle to the other side of the room and noticed that Mr. Gold was also here. He looked straight ahead at the mayor. I decided that it would be a good idea to pay attention to the Mayor's next words.

"Miss Swan, you will sit down immediately, or so help me."

"What?" Emma reacted. "You'll punish me? You'll bully me like everyone else in this town?" She said as she walked closer to the council and the Mayor. "No, not today." Emma turns around to the people gathered to watch and participate in the council meeting. She holds up a paper with some sort of plans for a building. "In my hand I am holding documents proving that this woman, your mayor, stole funds from the city to build herself a lavish home in the woods." Everyone started to talk and whisper again. "And this disgraced reporter," Emma said referring to Sydney. "Wonder why he was really fired? Because he stood up to her, because he questioned her. We all know what happens to people who question the mayor." Emma then turned around to look back at Mayor Mills. "You claim that you act in the best interest of all of us, but that isn't the truth is it? The truth is that you are a thug that doesn't care about anyone or anything but yourself. That is who you really are, and it is time for the people of Storybrooke to know that." Everyone was looking to the mayor for answers now. She just smiled.

"You are right miss Swan. I am building a house." What? She stands up and leans on the desk. "A play house." She pulls a small remote from her blazer pocket and turns to the screen behind her. She presses a button and a picture of a playground structure pops up on the screen. Everyone in the room sighs in relief. "The accusations are true. I did take city funds. I wanted to build a playground so my son Henry, and all the children of Storybrooke, have a special place to play safely." Emma did not look pleased. "As for the sketch in your hands, it was inspired by a drawing I found in one of my son's books." There was a pause as Mayor Mills looked at Emma. "So, there you have it miss Swan. You have exposed me for who I really am. I hope you're satisfied." The Mayor went back to running the meeting and it went rather smoothly.

Sydney and Emma left and I followed them out. We were walking away from the building when Emma stopped and turned to look at Regina talking with the council members just outside. Sydney and I followed suit. She didn't seem so bad, but I still don't like her and the way she belittles me.

"Look at her." Said a voice from behind us. We turned back around to see that Mr. Gold was standing there. "Queen of the castle." He said while looking to Regina. He then turned to look to Emma. "You know what you did in there was commendable, miss Swan. But, if you really want to bring her down you're gonna need a strong ally." I scoff at that and turn to look back towards Regina.

"Like yourself?" Emma asked. I saw that the mayor was coming towards our small group so I turned back to look at Mr. Gold who nodded in response to Emma's question. "Thanks, but I'm still not interested." Mr. Gold's eyes looked over my shoulder at the Mayor. I could hear her heals clicking on the cement as she came towards us.

"Well, one can wish." He said before turning and walking away from the three of us. I turned towards the Mayor, who was now standing next to me. She looked to Emma.

"A word?" She asked. "Alone?" Again with the rudeness towards not wanting me around. Sure she was also talking to Sydney as well, but I feel very offended when she shoos me away. Emma looks towards Sydney and he walks away. I stare Regina down and she stares at me. "Are you dull? I said alone." She states. That's when I feel a hand on my shoulder. I look to see that it was Emma.

"It's okay, Ava." I nodded and huffed away. I didn't have anything to do, so I headed into town. I just walked around and ended up in the park again. I don't know why, but it was a very calming area. The open space, the nature, the breeze that blows through, everything cools me down when my temperament gets hot. I close my eyes as I sit on the bench and take deep breaths. I start to think about the dreams that I have had, the ones where I am flying. The free feeling washes over me as I feel someone sit next to me.

"So, are you ready to tell me everything?" I said as I open my left eye to look at the man sitting next to me. He is looking towards the ground, but he doesn't answer me right away. "I guess that's a no." I whisper as I close my eye again.

"It is a no because you will not believe me." He finally says. I open my eyes as I lightly laugh.

"That is a horrible excuse." I look towards him. "I feel like everyone treats me like I am a child. They think I won't understand what is going on. I feel like Henry, and I am actually starting to believe that his book of stories is real." He looks to me with slight shock in his face. "I've been having crazy dreams, but I don't even tell Archie about them because I am afraid he will think that I am crazy."

"What kind of dreams?" He asks. I turn away and shake my head. "Please, Ava, I know for a fact that you are not crazy." I looked back to him. "You need to share with someone."

"So, I'm supposed to just tell you everything and get nothing from you?" That doesn't seem fair at all.

"Well, I can tell you if what you tell me seems crazy." I squinted my eyes at him. I needed to vent to someone so I decided to just tell him. I told him about all the dreams that I have been having and I watched his face light up at some of the things that I was saying. When I talked about the Rumplestiltskin character turning into the dark one his face fell. It was interesting to see what his reactions were to everything that I said. It was almost like he was feeling some sort of nostalgia. It was like it had actually happened to him. When I was done telling him about all of my dreams we sat in silence for a few minutes. I decided to break the silence as Mr. Gold looked to the ground.

"So, do you think I'm crazy?" I asked. He looked back up at me and shakes his head.

"No, of course not." A small smile crept onto his face. It was not like the smirk that he gave most people. It was a genuine smile. "You are as sane as anyone in this town." I giggled a little and looked down at my hands in my lap.

"And, how would you know?" It's not like he was a great judge on the sanity of people. That is Archie's job.

"You know, a while ago you told me about the trees in your dreams." I looked to him. I had totally forgotten about that. It was about my first dream that happened around the time that Emma came to town. "You said yourself that dreams feed off of real memories and experiences. What is to say that those things didn't really happen?" Now he was confusing me.

"So you are saying that these dreams are my own memories?" He nodded and I had to laugh. "How would that be possible? Ogres and curses and talking crickets are not real."

"Well, Henry seems to believe that they are very real, dearie." I still could not believe that he thought that all of the things that I told him were true.

"And, everyone seems to think that the kid is going through some mental break." That's when I notice that it is getting late, so I stand up to head home. "If you believe me and everything that I told you, wouldn't that make you crazy, too?" He smiles up at me as he also stands from the bench.

"That depends on what you consider crazy. You act like a normal person, so why would anyone say any different?" That made me smile, and we ended up walking back to town together.

 **A/N: I hope you are enjoying the story. I am not really feeling the relationship between Archie and Ava any more. Do you think that I should have Ava fully remember her past or keep it coming in fragmented pieces in her dreams? I would still write full chapters about her past, but she wouldn't feel like she is crazy.**


	18. Captive to Outcast?

**A/N: I am back. I worked on this chapter for the past couple of days and it is finally finished. As you can see it is very long. In word it is about 16 pages long. I couldn't split the scenes into a million different chapters. I hope you like it.**

I feel a soft touch on my shoulder. Whoever it is wants to wake me up, but I am so comfortable. I have been sleeping in an actual bed for about a month now. Rumple seems to trust me enough to not lock me up in the cell down below. About a week after I arrived he turned my clunky pocket watch into a lighter necklace. It almost looks like a miniature version of the Dark One's blade, but instead of a hilt it had some sort of Celtic knot that attached to the delicate chain.

"Ava, dear, it's time. Today is the day." My eyes shot open, and I sat up straight. I looked to the man who woke me with hope that he was not tricking me.

"Do not toy with me." I said pointing a finger at him. He crossed his eyes as he looked at the finger that I had pointed close to his face. He takes the hand, in front of his face, into his own. He looks into my eyes as he presses his lips to the back of my knuckles.

"I would never dream of it, dearie." This makes me smile as I jump out of bed. I fling my arms around his neck and embrace him. I have been waiting so long for this day, this moment. I let go of him and started to get ready. I rushed around the room getting my dress and cloak, the ones that Belle first saw me in years ago. I'm sure she has remembered, and I am sure that she has grown into a beautiful young woman. "We leave in a few hours. It's a long way to the castle, but we'll get there before sundown."

"I can't wait to see her again." I turned to my savior. "I bet she's even more beautiful than the last time I saw her." He smiled at me, but looked down to his feet. "Rumple, we'll find him, I'm sure of it." Yes, the lost boy, Baelfire. I originally thought that both father and son left together, but Rumple told me that Bae went through some sort of portal. A magic bean that the blue fairy gave to the boy created this portal. He wished for a fresh start for the both of them, but Bae's hand slipped from Rumple's and the boy was sucked in. Rumple has been looking for his son ever since.

"I know." He looked away from me with a stern face, so I squinted as I tried to look into his eyes. I walked over to him and grabbed his chin. I forced him to look at me.

"Listen to me right now." His actions were irritating me. "You may be the Dark One, but I know jealousy when I see it." I glared at him before letting go of his face. "It is not a charming or attractive look on anyone, especially you." I said. I pointed at him as I said the last word. I turned away and continued to get ready. As I pulled out my yellow-orange floor-length dress, which I haven't worn in years, I feel a pair of arms embrace me around my waist. The owner of these arms presses his chest to my back.

Oh, did I not say that Rumple and I had actually started a relationship of some sort? Well, we did. I guess I would say that it started to progress when he started to let me sleep in this room instead of the dungeon below. He would treat me like a delicate flower, and sometimes he would actually make me meals instead of the other way around. Recently he has let me come along on his dealings. All I do is sit on his shoulder in my bird form, but I love watching him work and twist words on contracts. I always feel bad for the people on the other side of the deal, though.

"Don't be like that, my little song bird." He presses his lips to the crook of my neck, but I am not so easily swayed by his actions. "All I wish is to have everyone together. We can be like a family." I drop the dress that I still held in my hand, and I turn around in his grasp. I look into his eyes and I can see that he is being truthful. I smile and press a kiss to his forehead, I pull back and look into his eyes once again.

"We will be like a family." I then kiss his nose. "And once our family is whole, we can start adding to it." That is when Rumple starts to kiss down my neck, and I do not want him to stop. Alas, we needed to get Belle from that horrid man, who is Belle's father by blood. I regrettably push my love away and put my hands on both sides of his face. "We must get the first piece if we are to reach that final stage, my love." He takes a deep breath, and he fully lets go of me before straightening out his clothing. I smile and shoo him out of the room so I can get ready without interruption.

We are finally outside the castle of Belle's father, Maurice. I hate even thinking his name. I look in one direction to see that there is some sort of war going on. I cannot help but think that Rumple somehow started it. I am a parrot on his shoulder, and we are so close to Belle. I can feel her presence in the castle.

"Are you ready, dearie?" He said, looking at me out of the corner of his eye. I turn my head to look at him.

"As ready as I shall ever be." He smiles and suddenly we appear in one of the hallways. I look at the large set of doors before us. I hear voices on the other side. Rumple then bangs on the doors, which are clearly barricaded. He keeps banging on the doors until I hear someone starting to open them from the other side. Before they get the door open we have disappeared from that spot and appeared in a throne like chair behind them. We just look at the back of their heads. They look so cute in their confusion that I almost feel bad for them.

"Well, that was a bit of a let down." Rumple says to get their attention. They all turn around and I finally see her. Belle is so grown up now, and even more beautiful than I remember. Rumple lets out a little giggle. Some young man starts to venture towards us as he pulls out a sword. Who does he think he is? Does he know whom he is dealing with? "You sent me a message. Something about um, 'Help! Help! We're dying! Can you save us?'" He waved his hand in the air animatedly. I continued to look at my daughter who looked as if she was trying to place the brightly colored image of me. She glanced up at her father, and then looked back to me. Rumple starts to stand from the chair as he continues to speak. "Now, the answer is…" I squawked in bird-like laughter. I love suspense. Rumple walked up to the sword that the young man was still pointing at us, and he batted it away with his hand. "Yes, I can. Yes I can protect your little town."

He walked toward the table with a huge map set up on top of it. I fly from Rumple's shoulder and land on the map. I look at the little model castles setup in various locations.

"For a price." Rumple walks around the table slowly, and everyone followed his every movement. He makes it to the side of the room that hold the double doors. I stretch out my wings and knock over all of the small castles on the map before flying back to land on Rumple's shoulder. Maurice then starts to walk towards us as he starts to speak.

"We sent you a promise of gold." I squawk at his statement. What would we need with gold?

"Ah. Now, you see, um, I uh, make gold." Rumple states to the stupid men in front of us. I pity them. Do they really not know whom they are dealing with? "What I want," He says getting closer to Maurice. "Is something a bit more special." He reaches up and gently pets the feathers on my head. Oh, it felt so nice. "My price is her." Rumple points to Belle as he continues to look at Maurice. Maurice turns to look at Belle who is being 'protected' by the young man who had been holding the sword.

"No." Says Maurice. I squawk loudly as Rumple tries to calm me. I know we were going to end up leaving with Belle, but this man in front of me was making me so mad.

"The young lady is engaged, to me." The young man says. Is she really engaged to this boy? My love walks past everyone back to the chair, trying to keep me from scratching everyone's eyes out.

"I wasn't asking if she was engaged. I'm not looking for love." He then turns to me slightly, still gently petting me. "Because I have already found that." He whispers, so only I can hear him. He sharply turns back to look at them. "I'm looking for a caretaker for my rather large estate." It is a big place, even for two people. It is impossible for me to keep everything free of dust and cobwebs for more than a day. I look at Belle and it seems like she finally recognizes me. I can see the corners of her mouth lift the slightest bit. "It's her, or no deal."

"Get out." Maurice says right away. At least he loves her enough not to want to sell her for his own benefit, but I know that he is no honorable man. "Leave!" Maurice turns and points out the door as Belle's betrothed pushes her behind him and out of the way. Their actions make a path to the door. I see that Belle is slightly annoyed with everyone's actions.

"As you wish." Rumple says as he walks towards the doorway. I knock my head against his. We cannot leave without her. "Shh, shh, shh, my dear." He coos to me as we continue to walk away.

"No, wait." her voice is as angelical as ever. Rumple gives me a look that says 'I told you so' before turning around. Belle walks away from her betrothed and her father. She stands in front of us and makes brief eye contact with me before looking to the Dark One. "I will go with him." She says. I make a happy clicking noise with my tongue as Rumple lets out a giggle.

"I forbid it." Says the boy. Belle turns to him.

"No one decides my fate but me. I shall go." She says, and she turns back to Rumple and I.

"It's forever, dearie." He warns. Belle looks to me and I nod my feathered head.

"My family, my friends, they will all live?" She asks.

"You have my word." Rumple promises.

"Then you have mine." She answers. "I will go, with you, forever."

"Deal." Rumple says as he laughs and does a small jig.

"Belle," Maurice tries to stop her. "Belle." She finally turns to her father. "You cannot do this. Belle, please." She puts a hand on her father's arm to comfort him. "You can't go with this," He looks at Rumple and I over Belle's shoulder. "Beast and his bird." Rumple displayed mock offense at the remark. He has been called much worse in the past.

"Father," Belle says. "Gaston," Belle directed that at the young man. What an interesting name he has. "It's been decided." We walk closer to Belle as a short silence ensues.

"You know, she's right." Rumple says to Maurice. "The deal is struck. And you cannot get out of it like your last deal." Maurice looks to me in realization "Or you could see it as me punishing you for not keeping your end of the last deal you made." An awkward silence fell. "Oh, congratulations on your little war." Rumple says before giggling once again. We turn around and walk out with Belle. Part one of our family has been put together. Once we get back to the castle I am so happy to have Belle back that I turn back into a human and give her the biggest hug. The girl in my grasp hugs me back and we both start to weep with joy.

"I have been waiting for this moment for so long." I say through my tears.

"So have I, mother." Belle says. We step apart and Belle holds me at arms length. "I am so sorry for what happened all those years ago."

"Don't be, my child, you were too young to truly understand." I tried to console her with my words, but they seem to make her weeping worse. Then Belle looked over my shoulder. I followed her gaze to Rumple. I turn back to my daughter.

"You live with him?" She asks me.

"Yes. We have a long history, and I asked him for help." She looked shocked.

"How do you know him?" She stepped away from me a little.

"It is a very long story, but we must get you settled." I walk her into the castle. We passed room after room with Rumple following us. I led her through the main room. It is where Rumple and I spend most of our time. Drapes cover the tall windows, making the room rather dark and gloomy.

"W-where are you taking me?" She asks. Rumple is the one to answer.

"Let's call it, your room." He walked ahead of us now. We walked down a long staircase to the dungeon. I am sure she is not feeling very welcome, but soon she will. It is a trust thing. I trust my own flesh and blood, but Rumple is not so trusting. Belle is a stranger to him, after all. We get to the cell that used to be mine. Rumple opens it with the flick of his wrist. Belle looks into the cell in shock as I move to stand next to Rumple.

"My room?" Belle looks to the Dark One and then to me.

"Well, it sounds a lot nicer than dungeon." Rumple says. Belle looks at me with pleading eyes. "It's nothing personal, dearie. Your mother stayed in that very cell for a long time before I let her have a real room." I nod to confirm his statement.

"It is not as bad as you think." I say as I look into the familiar room. "That cot is more comfortable than sleeping on the floor." I pointed out. "Plus, most of your days will be spent doing chores around the castle." Belle continued to look at me in shock. "You only need a place to sleep, and this is beyond efficient for that purpose, my dear." I gently guide her into the cell, and I have her sit on the cot in the corner before I walk out. Rumple quickly closes the door and locks it. That is when Belle snaps out of her shock and runs to the door that Rumple just locked.

"Let me out!" She yells as she bangs on the door. "Hello?" My eyes are filled with regret. How can I let my daughter go through being locked in a cell?

"You know the rules, Ava." Rumple says getting my attention. I look up at him. "She must learn those rules as you have, my dear." He kisses my temple and starts up the staircase to the main floor. Soon I follow.

The next day, I wake up and free Belle for the day. I bring her to the kitchen to start to get breakfast ready. I have her bring out the tea, and I bring out the food tray. We don't talk much and it saddens me. I do not wish for her to be upset with me. We round the corner into the main room with the long table. I walk in ahead of her as she looks around the room again. I make it to the table and set the food tray down. Rumple is already sat at the head of the table. He grabs one of my hands and kisses the back of my knuckles. He can tell that I am not happy, so he gestures for me to sit on his right. As I go to sit down he turns his attention to Belle.

"You will serve me my meals, and you will clean the dark castle." Belle sets down the tea tray on the far end of the table.

"I-I understand." She says obediently.

"You will dust my collection and launder my clothing." I look to Rumple. Is he giving away all of my chores to Belle?

"Yes" She says as she starts to pour some tea into a cup.

"You will fetch me fresh straw when I'm spinning at the wheel." He adds.

"Got it." Rumple looks to me to warn me of what he is going to say next. I nod and he proceeds with his plan to test her.

"Oh, and you will skin the children I hunt for their pelts." Belle stands up straight and drops the cup of tea on the ground as she gasps. "That one was a quip, not serious." He clarifies to her. "Plus, your mother would displeases with me if I did that. She just loves children. Sometimes I don't know why she has such a soft spot for them."

"Right." Belle took a deep breath to calm herself as she knelt down to pick up the teacup that she had dropped. "Oh my, I'm so sorry, but uh," Rumple and I leaned forward to see what she was doing. "It's-it's chipped." She says as she holds the cup up for us to see. "Y-y-y-you can hardly see it." I looked to Rumple. He did not look pleased, but I know that he is not very attached to that particular tea set.

"It's just a cup." He says to her with a slightly stern look on his face. She breathed another sigh of relief as she stood up and served Rumple and I some tea. She went to place the first cup in front of him. "Ladies first." He told her. He was being a bit harsh. In most families the man of the house was served first. Belle nodded and walked around his chair to place the cup in front of me. Then she served him his tea.

The rest of the morning went rather smoothly. After Rumple and I ate breakfast I gave Belle a more comfortable outfit and a list of tasks that were to be completed today. My task for the day was to clean the main room. I believe that it is because Rumple wanted to have me near him most of the day, but he has never confirmed my suspicions. First I clean the table, then the chairs. Next I start dusting everything else. I am about to get the ladder to dust off the curtains when Belle comes in the room.

"I-I'm finished with the tasks you have given me, mother." She says. I turn to her, but I don't really say anything.

"Great timing, dearie." Rumple says from his spinning wheel. We both turn to him. "I need you to clean the curtains." He says pointing to the large windows covered by dark heavy curtains. Belle looks to them and swallows. "Go grab the ladder and get started." He glared at her. Belle turned to me and I nodded. I led her to where the ladder was stored. She brought it out to the main room as I started to make lunch.

Belle's POV

Mother is acting strange. She isn't how I remember. She seemed so pure, and I would have never guessed that she would know the Dark One personally, let alone live with him. I guess it has been a long time since I last saw her. It would make sense that she would change, but it still made me uneasy that she seemed to have some sort of romantic relationship with the Dark One. I am not dull. I see the way that they look at each other. I saw the way that he calmed her down when she was in her parrot form. I saw him kiss the back of her knuckles this morning when I brought in the tea. He even let her sit next to him, and he had me serve her first.

Now I am taking on her chores. I am up on the tallest ladder I have ever been on, and I am supposed to try not to fall as I clean these curtains. Speaking of these curtains, they will not budge. I keep trying to open them, but they seem to be permanently fixed in place. I look over to the Dark One in the corner. He is spinning, and he has been spinning since breakfast ended.

"Why do you spin so much?" I ask him. He pauses at the sound of my question, and he looks over his shoulder at me. He doesn't say anything and he turns back to the spinning wheel. "Sorry, it's just, you've spun straw into more gold than you could ever spend." He starts to spin again.

"I like to watch the wheel. It helps me forget." What could the Dark One possibly want to forget?

"Forget what?" He paused before answering.

"I guess it worked." He says before giggling and glancing back at me. It is quite a funny answer, so I can't help the soft laugh that forced its way out of my smiling face. I then turn back to the window to continue to try and open the curtains. "What are you doing?" The man says. I can hear him walking towards the ladder.

"Opening these. It's almost Spring. We should let some light in." I kept trying to move the curtains. I look down to the Dark One. He is now at the foot of the ladder watching me struggle. "What did you do? Nail them down?"

"Yes" He says bluntly. I turn back to the curtain and grab in a different area to see if anything will move. I guess I pull a bit too hard because with one pull the entire curtain comes down with me freefalling to the floor. The thing was, I didn't hit the floor. I was caught in the arms of someone that is thought of as heartless and unkind. I look up at my savior and he looks to be a bit blinded by the light streaming in through the window. Then he looks to me.

"Uh, thank you." I say. He drops my legs and lets me go. "Thank you." I say again as he backs away from me.

"No matter." He says as he starts to walk back to his wheel.

"I'll, uh, put the curtains back up." He looks back at me for a second, and says something that I did not think he would.

"Uh, there's no need. I'll get used to it." He walks back to his wheel as I look at his back.

"Lunch is served." Mother says as she enters the room with a cart full of food. It all looks really good. I can feel my mouth watering already. I look up at her face. She looks up and sees the one window uncovered. "Oh my. What happened in here?" She asked. I watched as the Dark One made his way over to sit at the table.

"Just a little slip." He says to her. Mother sets a few plates on the table in front of him. Their whole relationship is a bit odd, but I guess 'I'll get used to it'. The man turns to me. "Are you going to eat, or are you just going to stand there looking lost?" He says. I move to the table and sit on his left. I know that mother sits on his right, so I didn't want to take that seat. Mother sets a few plates in front of me, and then brings a few plates to her seat. It was actually kind of nice. It almost felt like we were a small family.

Ava POV

A few months have passed, and it seems that Belle has gotten used to how things work around here. It also seemed that Rumple was slowly developing a soft spot for my daughter. I feel as though I always have a smile on my face, now. Today I am cleaning in the main room, once again. Belle has brought in the afternoon tea, and set it on the end of the table.

"Belle," I call to her. She turns to me. "Could you finish up the dusting in here? I need to go start lunch." She smiles and nods to me. Ah, the feeling of having even just a portion of our family together and coexisting successfully makes me so happy. I leave to get the mid day meal ready for the three of us.

Belle POV

I wonder what mother is going to prepare for the mid day meal. Whatever it is I am sure it is going to be delicious. Everything that she has made, since I arrived, has been amazing. As I finish dusting the rest of the surfaces in the main room I look over and notice that Rumpelstiltskin, or Rumple as mother calls him, drinking his tea from the chipped cup. Mother must not have wanted to break up the set by tossing the chipped teacup. I put down the duster and walk around the table. Rumple walks further down the table as I follow him. He turns around as I sit on the table with my legs dangling. There are many things that I wish to ask him, and I don't know if mother will know the answers. Surely Rumpelstiltskin, the Dark One, will be able to give me answers.

"Why did you want me here?" I ask. He scrunches up his face before he answers.

"The place was filthy." I just look at him as if to say that there is more to it than just needing someone to clean up after him. After all he had my mother to do some of the cleaning before I arrived. He noticed my look and sighed heavily. "Fine, I didn't want you here," My eyes went wide. "At first." He quickly clarified. "Your mother came to me begging for my help. It was after she revealed who she was to you." My face fell. I felt awful for what I had done. "She had helped me out a long time ago, before I became the Dark One. I felt as if I still owed her for her kind gesture, so I agreed to help her." He looked so happy when he was talking about my mother. He looked to me and leaned in close. "Can you keep a secret?" He whispered to me.

"Of course." I whisper back.

"I told her, at the time, that she would need to stay here and take care of the castle and I to pay back her debt to me."

"But I thought you said that you felt that _you_ owed _her_ a debt?" I pointed out. We were still whispering.

"I would have been happy if she were to just sit beside me as I spun." There was a twinkle in his eye as he said that. "I could not look weak, and how would it look if I made a one sided deal? If someone found out they would know about my weakness." He pulled back a little bit as he looked to be reflecting on his actions.

"I guess my mother could be any man's weakness." I say to break the short silence. He leans on the table next to me.

"Well, I'm not a man." He says looking into the cup of tea in his hands. I figure that we have reached a slightly touchy subject, but I wanted him to realize that he is more human than he thinks. Why else would mother show so much affection towards him? I then ask something that has been bugging me since I discovered them.

"So, I've had um, a couple of months to look around, you know. And uh, upstairs there's uh, clothing. Small as if for a child?" I look to him. I was genuinely just curious. "Was it yours or," He looked a bit shocked that I was bringing this up and he sort of stiffened. "Or was there a son?" It seemed, for a second, that he would not answer until he turned to look at me.

"There was." He answers. I can see the sadness in his expression. "There was a son." He turns away from me, again. "And I lost him." Poor man. I wonder if mother knows of his son. "As I did his mother." He has so much bad luck, it seems.

"I'm, I'm sorry." I say as I look down at my feet. A length of silence follows before I say something else. "So you were a man once." I said trying to get my point across. "An ordinary man." I see a slight smirk pull up the corner of his mouth. "My mother already knows you, and if I am never going to know another person in my whole life, can't I know you too?" Rumple stands up straight and turns to me.

"Perhaps." He smiles as he sets the chipped cup on the table where he had been leaning before. "Perhaps you just want to learn the monster's weaknesses." I just gave him a look.

"I already know one of your weaknesses." He looks at me squinting his eyes. "My mother." I clarify. "And I would never want her to be kidnapped or hurt." He seemed a little taken aback. "You getting hurt would not be a beneficial thing, either. Mother would be devastated." I smile as I say all of this. "You're not a monster. You think you're uglier than you are. That's why you cover all the mirrors up, isn't it?" He stands up straight and looks a little uncomfortable with my observation. That's when a banging came from the front door.

"I must go get that, dearie." I nod and hop off the table as he leaves.

"The food is ready." Says my mother as she comes into the room wheeling in the cart filled with food. She looks around and notices that I am the only occupant of the room. "Where has Rumple gone?" She says as she placed her hands on her hips.

"He just went to answer the door. Someone was banging on it." She relaxes a little as she begins to set the table for three people to eat. Soon Rumple comes back into the main room. Both mother and I look up as he enters.

"Who was it?" Mother asks as he walks coyly towards her with his hands behind his back.

"Just an old woman selling flowers." He answers. Suddenly he presents a single rose to mother. She looks surprised then adoringly at him. "Here. If you'll have it." She takes the rose from him.

"Why thank you." She says. She curtsied as he bowed. It was actually adorable to see them express their feelings so freely in front of me. I giggle lightly and they both look to me as if they had just realized that I was here. Mother bashfully walks away as she inhales the flower's scent. She goes to retrieve a small vase from the kitchen to place the flower in. When she leaves the room Rumple directs his attention to me.

"You had a life, Belle, before this." He says as I finish placing the rest of the food dishes on the table. "Friends, family. What made you choose to come here with me?" He asks as he takes a seat.

"Heroism, sacrifice, but mostly my mother. I made one wrong move and I thought that I would never see her again. I wasn't about to let her slip away again." I sit at my place setting on his left. "Plus, there aren't a lot of opportunities for women in this land to, to show what they can do, to see the world, to be heroes. So, when you and my mother arrived, that was my chance. I always wanted to be brave. I figured 'do the brave thing' and bravery would follow."

"And is it everything that you hoped?" I heard my mother ask as she walked into the room with the rose in a copper vase. She smiled at me, which made me smile back. She set the vase in the center of the long table and made her way to her chair.

"Well, uh, I did want to see the world." Both of them looked at me as I answered. "That part didn't really work out, but uh, I did save my village." Rumple started to eat as my mother asked another question.

"And what about your, uh, betrothed?" She did not have an amused look on her face. I knew she would not care for him. On the outside he could come off as childish, even while wielding a sword. I smiled as I answered. I know she is going to both love and hate this answer.

"It was an arranged marriage." I said. "Honestly, I never really cared much for Gaston."

"Oh thank goodness. I thought he was just awful dear." Mother said to me. "It is a delight to know that there is a possibility you have a better taste in men."

"To me, love is layered. Love is a mystery to be uncovered. I could never truly give my heart to someone as superficial as he." I looked to my mother and I could tell that she was proud. I then looked to Rumple. He was smiling at me as he ate his meal. "But, uh, you were going to tell me about your son." I said to Rumple. He finished swallowing the food in his mouth before answering. Mother looked towards him with a slightly surprised expression.

"I'll tell you what. I'll make you a deal. Go to town, and fetch me some straw. Once you return, I'll share my tale." I could tell that mother was uncomfortable with this deal. I know that she didn't want me to be out of her sight. She felt that I wouldn't return. She just looked down at her plate of food with a sad look.

"Town?" I said. I didn't really understand why he would offer this deal to me. "You trust me to come back?"

"Oh no, I expect I'll never see you again." Metal clattering to the table draws both of our attention to my mother. She had dropped her eating utensil as she continued to stare at her food. She slowly looked up at me.

"At least finish your food before you go." She said to me. She refused to look at either of us during the meal. Needless to say we all ate in silence. I finished my food before them and I stood up.

"May I be excused?" I ask Rumple. He nods and I leave the room to get ready to go into town. This is so exciting. I get to interact with other people.

Ava POV

I am fuming on the inside as my daughter walks out of the room to get ready to go into town, or to leave forever. I watch her back until I can't see her form any longer. I then turn to Rumple, who is still eating his lunch, and I glare at him.

"If looks could kill, my love." He says as he looks up from his food at me. "You still couldn't kill me." I huff and stand up collecting all of the plates off the table, including the one he was not done with. I am not amused at his comment. I did not want to talk to him. He was sending away my baby. I just got her back, and he is going to allow her to choose if she wants to come back to live here. I placed all of the plates on the cart and started to roll it to the kitchen. "Ava, don't be upset with me." I continued to ignore him. "I need to test her loyalty, not only to me, but to you as well." We finally arrived at the kitchen, and I placed all of the plates in the sink to wash them. I know that Rumple hated when I ignored him, and he never wants to leave me alone when he knows I am upset with him. "We need to talk this out, dearie." I finally turn to him, clearly very upset.

"How could you?" I say. "Sending her to town could end very badly. Something could happen to her, or she could just leave and we'll never see her again."

"Like I said before, this is a test." He replied.

"I know it is, but I just got her back. I am likely to loose her now." I turn back to the dishes. I scrub them as another silence falls between us. He does not move, and he is the one to break the silence.

"I don't mean to hurt you, but every child must leave the nest at some point." This just made me more furious. I throw a plate at his head. He catches it before it makes contact with his face.

"You have no right to say such a thing to me." He looks at me with a confused expression. "You had more than thirteen years with your son." I say pointing at him. "I have had lest than one year all together with my daughter." I make sure that all of the dishes are clean, dried and put away before I storm out of the kitchen and back to the main room. Rumple follows close behind. We get to the main room just as Belle enters in her traveling cloak carrying a basket for the straw. She smiled at the both of us, so I smiled back in response. I do not want her to know that I was not happy about what is happening. All of us went to the front door. Rumple opened the door as Belle and I hugged. I still do not wish to let her go, but she slowly pulls away from me. I wave to her as she walks into town. I hope to see her again.

Belle POV

I can tell that my mother is upset that I am leaving, but I am planning to go back to the castle. She has nothing to worry about. I wish to hear about Rumple's son. I walk along the road that leads into town, and soon I hear a horse drawn carriage. I step to the side of the road to get out of the way. I thought that it would just go by, but it stopped in front of me. The carriage door opens and a woman starts talking to me.

"Did my carriage splash you?" I look down at my cloak to see if anything was splashed on it. I borrowed it from mother, and I don't want it to get too dirty on this journey.

"Oh no, um, I'm fine." I answer. I start to continue on my way when the woman says something else.

"You know, I'm tired of riding. Let me stretch my legs and walk with you for a spell." I wasn't expecting her to say that. It looks as if she should not be walking around. Why else would she be riding in a carriage? She must be important. She steps out of the carriage with a black sun umbrella. We walk ahead of the carriage and she starts a conversation with me. "You carry very little."

"I don't want to be slowed down." I answer.

"Ooh, you're running from someone." I look at her as she looks at me. "The question is, master or lover?" How offensive.

"Neither." I say

"Oh." She says as she laughs. I stop and turn to her. Her line of questioning is making me uncomfortable.

"I might take a rest." I say. "Y-you go on ahead." I gesture farther along the road in front of us. She ignores my words as she puts an arm around my shoulders. We continue to walk down the road.

"So if I am getting the right idea, you are working for a family member, and you want to get back to them as soon as you can." She says.

"Yes. My mother. I am worried for her. She is with a man. But, there's something evil has taken root in him." I answer. I know that they both love each other, but I can't help but worry about her safety.

"Sounds like a curse to me." She says. "And, all curses can be broken." If this is true, then he can become a man again. I look to her wondering what could break his curse. "A kiss born of true love would do it." Does she expect me to kiss him? "Oh child no, I would never suggest a young woman to kiss a man who has the love of her own mother. What kind of message is that?" I just turned to look at the road ahead of us. "Have you ever seen your mother kiss this man?" She asks me. Now that I think about it I have only seen him kiss the back of her hand. It is a lovely gesture, but to break his curse they would have to truly kiss each other.

"Why?" I ask her.

"If he loves her he would certainly show it." She tells me. I stopped and turned to her again.

"He does show her affection. I see it in his eyes and the way that he talks about her and to her.

"Yes, but no kiss has happened." She says.

"And a kiss, a kiss is enough?" I ask to make sure I am getting her information correct. "He'd be a man again?" She leaned in close.

"An ordinary man. True love's kiss will break any curse." A smile made its way onto my face. If I can get mother to kiss Rumple we would know if they are truly true loves. And if it works then he will become an ordinary man again. People won't be afraid of him anymore. He won't be a beast any longer.

Ava POV

I hope my daughter comes back. Rumple and I have not talked since she left. He has gone up to a room with a window. He has a view as far as the eye could see. I am sitting in my chair at the dining table with my head resting on my arms that are crossed on the table. Suddenly I hear Rumple coming down the stairs and into the main room.

"Don't look so mopey, my love. Someone has passed the test." My head shoots up to look at him. He is smiling at me as he makes his way to his spinning wheel. I jumped up from my seat and made my way to the front door. I open the door as Belle makes her way up the path. She spots me and gives me a large smile. She walks in as I close the door. We make our way to the main room. As we enter Rumple smiles from his wheel.

"You're back already. Good, good thing." He says. "I'm nearly out of straw." I just look at him then turn to my daughter.

"Plus, I wouldn't talk to him the entire time you were gone." I giggled and Belle joined in.

"And, uh, you promised me a story." Belle says as she moves to sit next to Rumple.

"Did I?" He asks as he looks up at her.

"Of course you did." I say. Belle sits on the spinning wheel and looks at him, waiting for him to talk about his son.

"Tell me about your son." I know that this is a touchy subject for Rumple. I pull up a chair and wait for him to talk about the boy that I got so attached to before everything changed.

"Uh, so uh, I lost him." He says clearly still uncomfortable talking about Bae. "There's nothing more to tell really."

"And since then, you've loved no one and no one has loved you." I look at her in surprise.

"Excuse me, but who says that no one has loved him?" Belle looked to me not really knowing what to say. "And what says he doesn't love me?" I don't know why I was getting so defensive about my relationship with Rumple.

"Well," She starts. "You certainly have affection fro one another, but," She says.

"But what?" I ask.

"Any curse can be broken by true love's kiss." That is when Rumple reacted. He stood up quickly and kicked his chair away.

"Who told you that!" He looks extremely upset now. "Who knows that!?" Belle looks away from both of us as she starts to stutter.

"I-I don't know. S-she uh." Oh no. I knew she should not have been sent to town. I have a feeling I know who this 'she' is.

"She, she." Rumple moves over to the covered mirror. He takes off the cover and looks into it. "You evil squall, this was you. You turned her against me. You think you can make me weak?" He says into the mirror. I look over to my daughter. She has started to walk towards him. I stop her and glare at her. I know she is my daughter, but there are some things you just do not say to some people. And there are some people she just should not have trusted. I guess that would be my fault, though. I did not warn her about Regina. "You think you can defeat me?"

"Who are you talking to?" Belle says over my shoulder as I stand between Her and Rumple.

"The queen." He says as he turns from the mirror to face us. "Your friend the queen." He starts to walk closer. "How did she get to you?" He asks pointing at her.

"The queen? I don't," Rumple cuts her off.

"I knew this was a trick. I knew you could never care for me like you care for your mother. Oh yeah, you're working for her." He was much closer now, and if I were not here he would have probably reached out to grab her by now. "Or is this all you? Is this you being the hero? Killing the beast?"

"It could work," Belle says.

"Shut up!" He yells.

"I did not tell her, Rumple." I plead with him. He needs to calm down. We know about true love's kiss breaking his curse. We tried it once and it worked, but we stopped before he fully turned human again. He still has so much to do, and he will not be able to complete his mission without his magic. It is the main reason that we do not share a room.

"That's not a good enough reason!" He shouts at me. He reaches around me to grab Belle's arm. I sigh in defeat. There is no calming him down at this point. He drags her down to her cell in the dungeon. I do not follow. I just stand there. This is not a good turn of events. This can only end badly for Belle. Rumple comes back up from the dungeon and I can hear him pick up something. I do not move. I am just thinking everything through.

Suddenly I hear glass shattering. I turn to see Rumple smashing the glass of the cabinet doors. Then, he turns to the tea set on the table. He grabs one cup and throws it against the wall. The rest of the cups follow. He picks up the last cup, the chipped cup, and instead of destroying it he looks at it and sets it back down on the table. He then notices me just standing here.

"Ava." He says as he comes closer. I do not even look at him. I just stare at the ground. "My love." He says. He knows that I know what must happen. He embraces me and pulls me into his chest. "I am so sorry." That is when I start to feel the dam break. I cry into his chest as he smooths out my hair, and he kisses the top of my head.

About a day later I bring some tea down to Belle. I open the door and see that she is sitting on the floor. I set the tray down next to her, but she doesn't move from her position. She just looked at me with pleading eyes. She wanted to know what she did wrong. I proceed to sit down next to her. I take one of her hands into mine.

"I blame myself for what happened." I say. Belle still doesn't say anything. "I should have told you before you went into town about Regina. About how she would do anything to weaken Rumple." I start to stroke Belle's hand. I do not know if it was to calm her or me. "We should have told you about everything. We already knew the effect true love's kiss would have on him." I looked at her and her eyes were filled with sadness and understanding. "Our relationship has been strained since we found out. It is why we still do not share a room."

"I'm so sorry." Belle finally says. "I wish you had told me." A silence fell between us, and Belle finally breaks it. "What is to happen to me now?" She asks.

"Once Rumple sets his mind to something there is no changing it." A look of worry crosses my daughter's face. "He is planning to send you away, and you are to never return." I could feel tears welling up in my eyes. It is likely I will not see my daughter again. That is when the door opens once again. In walks Rumple, and I stand up next to him.

"So, what are you going to do to me?" She asks him.

"Go." He says as he gestures to the door. He turns around, and I look to the floor.

"Go?"

"I don't want you anymore, dearie." That made me wince. I want her to stay. She is my only blood relative, my only child. Belle stands up and heads for the door, but she stops before she exits the door. She turns back to us and storms back to look Rumple in the face. She must get this bravery from me.

"You could have happiness with my mother, but you won't take the chance." Belle states.

"That's a lie." Rumple retorts. She steps closer to him.

"You're a coward, Rumpelstiltskin." It seems he can never get away from that title. "And, no matter how thick you make your skin that doesn't change."

"I'm not a coward, dearie. It's quite simple really. My power means more to me than you." He is trying to sound like he doesn't care, but I know that he does. We were supposed to find both of our children and become a family.

"No, it doesn't. Now you've made your choice, and you're going to regret it. Forever. I don't know how my mother has been able to deal with you for so long. She wishes for me to stay. If you really loved her you would let me stay. Now all she will have is an empty heart and a chipped cup." I looked down at the teapot with the last cup of the set, the chipped cup. Belle walks out of the cell and Rumple and I just stand there. I feel like I am dying on the inside. I look on the ground to see small wet spots gathering on the floor. I bring my hands up to my face and I find that the dam holding back my tears had finally broke. I try to wipe the small rivers from my face, but new rivers quickly replace them.

"It had to be done, my love." Rumple says as he turns to me. He gently places a hand under my chin and raises my head so that he can see my face. He then wipes away my tears. His eyes held such sorrow and guilt. "I never wanted you to experience this, but my rules are in place for a reason. She should have known not to speak to strangers on her way into town." I cannot hold back anymore. I start to sob into his chest as he rubs my back.

It has been about a month since Belle was told to leave. It has not been the same around here since. It seems empty now. As for the relationship that Rumple and I share, well it is as strained as ever. We hardly talk to each other anymore. I set the new tea set on the table. The old set has been locked away for safekeeping. I then proceed to start cleaning up the main room as Rumple continues to spin on his spinning wheel. Suddenly the main doors open and someone walks into the room. It is a certain someone that neither of us wants to see or talk to.

"Flimsy locks." She says. I glare at her as she laughs. "I have a deal to discuss." She walks over to the tea set that I set out for Rumple and I, and she pours herself a cup. "A certain mermaid." Rumple does not even turn to look at her.

"I'm not dealing today." He says softly as he continues to spin.

"Are you angry with me?" She asks. He still refuses to look at her. "What is it this time?"

"Your little deception failed." He answers her. He finally turns to look at her. "You'll never be more powerful than me. You can keep trying, dearie, but you're never gonna beat me." He goes back to his spinning once again.

"Ooh, is this about that girl I met on the road? Hm?" Rumple did not react. "What was her name?" She better be careful what she says about my daughter. "Margie? Verna?" Not even close.

"Belle." I piped up from across the table from Regina. She looks my way.

"Right." She continues to get her cup of tea ready. "Well, you can both rest assured, I had nothing to do with that tragedy." What? Did something happen to my dear sweet belle? I looked to Rumple. If something did happen, how did he not know? He looked skeptically over at Regina.

"What tragedy?" He says as he starts to walk towards the woman.

"You don't know?" She asks. If we did know why would we be asking you about it? "Well," She says as she picks up her cup of tea. "After she got home, her fiancé had gone missing. And after her stay here, her association with you, no one would want her of course. Her father shunned her. Cut her off, shut her out."

"So she needs a home?" I ask. Regina looks to me as she says her next sentence.

"He was cruel to her." She says with a huge smile. "He locked her in a tower and sent in clerics to cleanse her soul with scourges and flaying. After a while she threw herself off the tower. She died." I gasped as I brought my hands to my mouth. My poor baby. How could her father do that to her? I have to sit down, but there are no seats behind me. I cannot stop my knees from buckling. I don't hit the floor, though. Rumple has quickly gabbed a chair from the other end of the table and placed it behind me. Once Rumple made sure I was as stable s I could be, after being told that my daughter died, he turned to Regina.

"You're lying." He says to her.

"Am I?" My emotions have taken over and I can tell that Rumple's voice was getting a little shaky.

"We're done." He says. He opens the main door to show her the way out. Regina puts her unfinished cup of tea back on the tray and slowly makes her way to the door.

"Fine. I have other calls to make." As she makes her way past the table she slides her fingers across it. She looks at her fingers and glances at me before looking back to Rumple. "The place is looking dusty, Rumple. You should get a new girl." She says. He just stares at her until she decides to leave. He closes the door and I feel as if it is safe to cry, so I let out a sob. I cover my eyes in a failed attempt to halt my water works. I feel Rumple grab my shoulders and pull me up from the chair and into his chest. He tries to calm me, but it is no use.

"I'm so sorry, my love." He says to me, over and over again. I can hear the guilt in his voice. Soon I start to get tired. My emotions have taken everything out of me. I am drained of my energy. Rumple picks me up and takes me to my room. He tucks me into bed and starts to leave.

"Wait." I say as I reach out to him. He turns around. "I do not want to be alone." I say with a shaky voice. He comes back over to me and sits on the side of the bed. I grab his arm, and with the rest of the strength that I have, I pull him down to lie next to me. He wraps his arms around me and I cuddle up close to his chest. Soon I start to drift off to sleep.

 **A/N: I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. I certainly enjoyed writing it. The next chapter might also be a long one. It will be in Mr. Gold/Rumpelstiltskin's POV, so be on the lookout for that.**

e He says


	19. Skin Deep

**A/N: Yay! I finally got this chapter posted. My life has been really busy ans stressful lately, so i am really sorry this took so long. I hope it was worth it.**

Mr. Gold/Rumpelstiltskin POV

I woke up today with a joy in my heart that many wouldn't understand. I am collecting on a loan. Mr. French runs a flower service called Game of Thorns. I granted him a loan, and if he doesn't pay up when I come to him I am to take his lovely delivery truck. I am so strict with this man because he has caused Ava and me so much pain, not in this land but in the enchanted forest. First he stole Belle from Ava after she was born, then after we were able to get her back and let her leave we heard that he had subjected Belle to forms of torture, and Ava's daughter had committed suicide. There is no way I could let him slide with a past like that. Sure, he doesn't remember, but I do. I walk up and stand next to the man's van. He is unloading some flowers. I have brought an extra person with me. He is here to drive the truck away if the man doesn't have the money to pay the loan.

"Well, this is just perfect." I say to get his attention. "I've been looking for you Mr. French." He looks a little uneasy as he walks towards me.

"I'll have your money next week." He says. Oh, I have been waiting for this moment for so long. A smile makes its way onto my face.

"The terms of the loan were fairly specific." I turn to the man I have brought with me. "Take the van." He walks to the driver's side of the van as Mr. French starts to panic. Yes, squirm little man, squirm.

"Wait. No." Mr. French says as he follows my muscle in front of the van. Then he turns back to me. "Tomorrow's Valentine's day. It's the biggest day of," I slowly walk to him. "I've got a grand in roses in the back." He stands in front of the van as the man in the driver's seat turns the van on and revs the engine. "Stop!" He turns to me once again. "You've gotta let me sell them." He continues to panic as I start to walk past him. I look to my pocket watch. I have to open my shop soon.

"I'm gonna allow you two to continue this conversation." I say. I put my pocket watch back where it belongs and I start to walk away.

"Oh, this is no way to do business, Gold." I hear the van accelerate and brake. "You are the lowest!" He yells at me. "People aren't gonna put up with this!" Then I hear the van drive away and I cannot help but smile to myself. I walk to the sidewalk where Regina is waiting for me.

"Mr. Gold?" She says. "That was quite a show back there."

"Well, Mr. French is just having a bad day. Happens to the best of us." I say in response to her simple observation.

"I've been meaning to talk to you about something."

"Yeah, and the moment you have something I want to discuss, we'll have that little chat." I try to walk by her, but she blocks my path. Now I am getting a little irritated, and I was having such a good day.

"No, we're gonna do this now." She insists. "It'll only take a moment."

"Is there something eating you, dear? Something you need to get out in the open? Cuz it's gonna have to wait." She goes to say something else. "Please." I add, and I walk past her. I enter my shop, but I suddenly realize that I have forgotten Ava's necklace at home. This doesn't worry me, though. It should be safe there. It should be resting right next to the chipped cup on my dresser.

The first half of the day has gone by smoothly. Ava hasn't come by since our little talk in the park. She said that she felt crazy, but I know that she is very sane. She is quite possibly even more sane than I. I don't want her to feel that way for much longer, but I just need to let the chips fall where they may at this point. It is time for lunch, so I head back home to make myself something to eat. What is the point in buying something when you have perfectly good food at home?

I walk up to my front door and notice that it is slightly ajar. I slowly enter and walk to the small table where I had previously hidden a gun. If the perpetrator is still in the house, then I am ready to defend myself. I walk into one room and see that almost everything in the room has been moved around, looked through, and seem to be tossed all over. Suddenly I hear footsteps behind me. I quickly turn to the sound and point my gun at the person. That is when I saw Emma pointing her own gun at me.

"Sherriff Swan." I say breathing a slight sigh of relief.

"Your neighbors saw your front door open, they called it in." She says. She continues to point her gun at me.

"It appears I've been robbed." I say.

"Funny, how that keeps happening to you."

"Yeah, well," I lower my gun. "I'm a difficult man to love." She lowered her gun and she started doing something with her phone. "Sherriff Swan, you can go now. I know exactly what was taken, and who did it. I've got it from here."

"No you don't. This was a robbery, public menace. And, if you don't tell me what you know, I'll have to arrest you for obstruction of justice." This is an irritating predicament. "I have a feeling you don't want to be behind bars."

"Indeed not." I don't want to say anything to Emma. I want to just fix all of this myself. There are a couple of things I need to check on, though. "Alright, his name's Moe French." I say reluctantly. "He sells flowers. He recently defaulted on a loan. A short time ago we had a little disagreement over collateral."

"Okay." She says as she starts to make his way to leave. "I'll go get him, check him out." She says.

"I'm sure you will, assuming I don't find him," If I was going to race miss Swan to Mr. French, she would certainly lose. I stop my words and I softly laugh. "Let's just say, bad things tend to happen to bad people" I finish my thought.

"Is that a threat?" Emma looks at me with skepticism.

"Observation." I say before the Sherriff puts on her hat and heads to the front door. "Good luck." Once she is gone I head upstairs to my bedroom. The two most important items in my home are missing, and I better get them back. I sit on the side of the bed and stare at the place where the chipped cup and the necklace had been before I left this morning. I sit there, for I don't know how long, and suddenly I hear the main house phone ringing. I make my way downstairs and pick up the handset. I bring it to my ear. "Hello?" I say to whomever is on the other end.

"I found all of your belongings." It is Emma. Does she truly have everything that was taken from me? "You can come down to the station to pick the items up."

"I'll be right there." I say as I hang up the phone. I get to the Sherriff's office, hoping that everything is truly going to be presented to me. Emma brings me into the room with a desk. I stand there and look at the sheet covering everything on the desk. Emma takes the sheet away and I take a look at everything there.

"You're welcome." She says. My eyes search the desk desperately, over and over. The two most important items are not present. "You're right. Your man Moe ripped you off. It was all still at his place." She sits in the chair behind the desk.

"And the man himself?" Mr. French is not in the cell behind me.

"Closing in on him." Emma says leaning back in the chair.

"So, job well half don then." I say. She has not caught the man who stole from me, and there are two items that are still missing.

"In less than a day I got everything back." She assumes that everything is here on her desk. "Is something wrong?"

"You've recovered nothing." I look to her. "There are a couple things missing." I then walk out. The rest of the items on that desktop are not as important as those two items. I need to get them back and Sherriff Swan is obviously not going to be able to find out what those two items are and where they have gone.

"I'll get them when I find him." She says.

"Not if I find him first." I say. Now it's my turn to try and find Mr. French. I'll be able to catch him tonight, but I'll need to pick up a few things.

Night has fallen and I am waiting in line to pay for a few things. In my arms I carry a roll of duct tape and some rope. I glance at the isle of cards set out for Valentine's Day. I see two people looking picking through them, a man and a woman. The man is David Nolan, and the woman is Ava. She must be here to pick up something for Dr. Hopper. Although, it seems as if she is having a hard time picking out a card. The last time I talked to her she said something about Archie believing Ava was too clingy. Personally I find that to be a good quality. It also reflects well on the little bug, because it means that Ava wished to spend as much time as possible with him.

As I gaze at her face now it almost looks as if she is tired. Is she tired of her relationship? Or is it just because of how late it is? She finally picks a card, but she is less than happy with it. She slowly trudges to the line behind me. She doesn't realize that I am in front of her.

"You look tired, dearie." I say to get her attention. That is when she finally realizes that I am the one standing in front of her.

"Oh, hi Mr. Gold. I've just been a bit out of it lately." She looked down at the generic card in her hand. "Plus, my relationship with Archie has become a little rocky."

"I'm sorry to hear that." I say. In all honesty, I just want her to be happy. If she were happy with Archie, I would accept it. Now that she isn't, I just want to tell her everything. I want to comfort her, but I can't right now.

"Yeah, well." It seems like she wants to say something more, but I don't want to push it. Then I see David join the line with two cards in his hand. Ava also notices this. "Two Valentines?" Ava asks the man.

"Sounds like a complicated life." I add to her question. David looks a bit surprised at our line of questioning.

"Oh no, I just couldn't decide." He answers, trying to cover his guilt with the excuse of indecision.

"And these are both for the same woman?" I ask. They were very different cards. One is more serious, and the other card has a more comical feel with a cartoon dog on the front. Ava also took a look at them, but sighed heavily. She must know what is going on, and she seems to be over all of the drama that goes along with it.

"Well, they're both so…us." David sticks to his lie.

"I see." I say.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night." Ava says. She seems very annoyed.

"Well, you're fortunate you have someone that loves you." We all stepped forward and it is my turn to purchase my wares.

"I really am." David agrees.

"Love," I look to Ava, but she seems to be zoning out. "It's like a delicate flame." David followed my gaze then looked back to me. "And once it's gone, it's gone forever." I look to David and he smiles and nods at me. I pay for my things as they are bagged. "Best of luck to you." I said. Before I head to the door I turn to Ava. "Follow what your heart is telling you, dearie." She looks into my eyes, and it is almost like something in her snaps. A big smile appears on her face. She quickly pays for her card and runs out ahead of me.

About an hour or so later I am driving the flower delivery van to a vacant cabin in the woods, far away from the center of town. The man, who has stolen two very precious things from me, is tied up with the rope that I had just purchased. He tries to scream out, but the duck tape, that I purchased with the rope, blocks anything but a mumble to come from his mouth. Once we arrive at the cabin I get out of the driver's seat and walk around back. I pull out my gun as I open the back doors of the van.

"Walk." I tell the man as I point my gun at him and gesture towards the cabin. He gets on his feet and starts walking to the cabin as I follow him. I open the cabin door and push him in first. As he turns to look at me I point the gun at his chest. "You see here's the thing, I don't normally let people get away." I reach back with my right hand and close the door. I forced the man to sit in the corner. I ripped the duck tape off his mouth and I started to pace around the room.

"Let me explain, kay?" I place my gun on a table across the room and I walk back to him. "Let me explain." I grab a nearby chair and place it in font of Mr. French with the back facing him.

"Oh, well that is fascinating." I sit in the chair facing the man, my legs on either side of the seat. "Truly fascinating." I lift my cane up to his neck and press down slightly on his throat. The man starts to struggle to stop the pressure on his windpipe. "I'm gonna let you breathe in a second." I say as I press a little harder. "And you're gonna say two sentences. The first, is gonna tell me where they are. The second, is gonna tell me who told you to take them. Do you understand the rules?" I pause slightly and he struggles to say something, but it only comes out in gurgles. "Good, let's begin." I pull the end of my cane away from his throat, and I wait for answers to leave his mouth. He catches his breath before answering as I lean forward.

"I needed that van." He says. That is not what I wanted to know. I know he needed the van, that's what made it the perfect collateral.

"Now you see, that is not a good first sentence." I lift my cane up and hit him with the handle as hard as I can.

"Gold! Listen," He says trying to reason with me.

"Tell me where they are." I hit him again.

"Stop!"

"Tell me where they are!" I say louder as I hit him once again.

"Stop!" I figure I can give him a chance to speak, so I wait. "It wasn't my fault!" I know he doesn't know about what happened in the enchanted forest, but I cant help but think he does with that sentence.

" _My fault._ " I repeat. "What are you talking about, _my fault?_ You shut her out. You had her love and you shut her out." Mr. French was starting to look very confused, but I kept going. I hit him once again with the handle of my cane. "She's gone. She's gone forever. She's not coming back." He just stared at me. I hit him some more. My frustration is boiling over, and I can't control myself. "It's your fault, not mine! You are her father! Her mother was devastated, and it's your fault!" I kept hitting him until I heard a siren and saw flashing red and blue lights outside. I finally decided to stop. I knew Mr. French wasn't going to tell me anything else. Emma bursts in the door with her gun raised to me for the second time today.

"Mr. Gold?" She says. "Get up and step away from Mr. French." I do as she says. She rushes to the man and unbinds him. She calls for an ambulance before walking over, glaring at me. "Go outside and wait by the cruiser." I followed her directions. As I stand next to the cruiser an ambulance drives up and EMTs go inside and check on Mr. French. I watched as Emma came out and walked towards me. "So, I heard you managed not to break anything he needs." I watched as the man was brought out of the cabin on a stretcher, and he was put in the back of the ambulance. "You're lucky, Mr. Gold."

"You got a funny definition of lucky." I reply.

"You've got a funny definition of justice." She crosses her arms in front of her. "What did he really do?"

"He stole." Was my simple answer. He has done so much more, but Emma wouldn't understand.

"That reaction was about more than just taking a few trinkets. You said something about how he 'hurt her', what happened to her. What was that? What did he do?" I couldn't say anything. "If someone needs help, maybe I can help."

"No, I'm sorry Sherriff. I think you heard that wrong."

"You really don't wanna cooperate."

"Look, we're done here." I start to walk away, but Emma grabs my arm to stop me.

"Actually, we're not." I hear the jingling of handcuffs as I look to Sherriff Swan. "You're under arrest." She cuffs one of my hands, then the other. I was put in the police cruiser and taken to the Sherriff's office. I was put in the single cell, in the main room. I stayed there over night and into the next day. Emma watched me like a hawk. Around lunchtime Sherriff Swan was eating a sandwich in her office.

"Pastrami," She said talking about her lunch. "You want half?" She offers before taking a bite. I look at her through the bars of the cell. "You know I still owe you that favor. Nice fatty pastrami, delicious way to clear the books."

"Well, I don't need a reminder that you owe me a favor." I paused. "And when the day comes that I make my request, it'll be for more than half a sandwich." She slightly smiled. Soon after, steps are heard coming into the room. I look to see Mayor Mills and young Henry. A smile creeps on my face as both of them turn to look towards Sherriff Swan.

"I'm letting you have thirty minutes with him." Regina says. Emma walks towards them with a slightly confused expression on her face. "Take him out, buy him ice cream." Then she turned to me.

"You want me to leave you alone with a prisoner?" Emma asks. Regina doesn't even turn to them. She just continues to look at me.

"Twenty-nine and a half minutes." Henry looks up at his birth mother.

"Hi Emma." He says with a big smile. Emma smiles down at him.

"Hey." Emma then looks over at me.

"Bring me back a cone?" I ask, joking.

"Just this once." Emma says before grabbing her coat and heading out with Henry to get some ice cream.

"Well," I said after the two had left. "You really wanted that little chat, didn't you."

"Apparently, this is the only way I could do it." Regina says as she walks slowly towards me. She stops, but continues to stand.

"Please, sit." I say as I gesture to the couch next to the cell. She walks over and sits on the arm of the little couch as she scowls at me. "Now, when two people both want something the other has, a deal can be struck. Do you have what I want?" I knew she had the items I wanted back. I needed to hear it from her mouth. She smirked at me before answering.

"Yes." She says plainly.

"So, you did put him up to it, then?"

"I merely suggested that strong men take what they need." She responded.

"Oh yeah, and you told him just exactly what to take, didn't you?"

"We used to know each other so well, Mr. Gold. Has it really come down to this?"

"It seems it has, yeah." I said nodding my head. "But, you know what I want. What is it you want?" I ask.

"I want you to answer one question, and answer it simply." There was a long pause. "What's your name?" Ah, the smart little devil. I smile.

"It's Mr. Gold." I wanted to see if she believed me.

"Your real name." I guess the jig is up, but let's see how long I can drag this out.

"Every moment I've spent on this Earth, that's been my name."

"But, what about moments spent elsewhere?" There you go.

"What are you asking me?" I say as I watch her squirm a little.

"I think you know. If you want me to return what's yours tell me your name." She insists. I guess this little game has gone on long enough. A smirk pulls its way onto my face.

"Rumpelstiltskin." I said. She doesn't say anything. I get up from my sitting position on the small cot in the cell and get as close as I can to her as I grab the bars. "Now give me what I want."

"Such hostility." She finally says.

"Oh yeah." She takes the purse off her shoulder and reaches in and brings out two items. The chipped cup and the necklace jewelry box are in front of me once again.

"Over these?" I try to reach through the bars to grab them, but she decides to slightly move them out of my grasp. "Such sentimental little keepsakes." She says as I finally grab both items.

"Thank you." I say as she finally lets go. "Your majesty." I back away from the bars and sit back on the small cot. I looked over the cup, and I opened the jewelry box. Both items were present and unharmed. Regina stayed in her spot. "So, Now that we've been honest with each other, let's remember how things used to be, shall we? And, don't let these bars fool you dear. I'm the one with the power around here. I'm gonna be out of here in no time, and nothing between us will change." She stands up and gets closer to the bars. Does she think she is intimidating me?

"We shall see." She says before leaving. I look down at the items in my hand and think about Ava and how things used to be. Soon after, Emma comes back, and she is talking with someone that isn't Henry. They finally appear at the door. I knew that lovely voice anywhere. Ava was talking with Emma, and she had a smile on her face. They both looked over to me.

"Well, Mr. Gold. Ava has decided to bail you out." Emma says. I look to Ava, and she has a huge smile on her face. "She already gave me the cash, so I just need to go get the paperwork all set up." Emma let me out of the cell and walked out of the room to get the paperwork. I walk up to her with the two items grasped in my hands. I open my mouth to ask her why, but she speaks first.

"Don't ask why, and you don't need to pay me back. Last night you said something that made me think, and it changed me. That is payment enough." What had she decided? Is she staying with the bug or not?

"Well, let me just give this to you." I said, extending the necklace box to her. "It has been a burden to keep safe for you." She goes to protest, but I continue to hold it out to her. "Please." She finally gives up and takes the box from me. She opens the box and looks down at the necklace. She takes the delicate chain, with a dagger like pendant, out and hands me the empty box. She struggles to put it on, but finally clasps it behind her neck. The image of her with the necklace makes me smile. It reminds me of how she used to be. Suddenly, she grasps at her head and screams out in pain. "Ava?" I try to get her attention, but she falls to her knees as she continues to scream. "Ava, what's wrong?" I kneel down next to her as Emma runs in. I look up to the Sherriff. "Call an ambulance!" I yell to her. She follows my order and I turn back to the woman still holding her head with both hands. I turn her face to look at me, and I can see tears streaming out of her eyes.

"It hurts. Make it stop." She whimpers. I pull her into my chest and I try to calm her. I stroke her hair as I rest my head on top of hers. "Make it stop, Rumple." I pull back a little bit, and I try to look at her face once again. Before I am able to meet her gaze, her eyes close and she goes limp.

"Ava?" I shake her a little, but she doesn't respond. "Ava!" No, no, no, I can't lose her again. I don't let go of her instead I pull her to me once again. I am trying really hard to keep my tears bottled up. I rock her back and forth until the EMTs pry her out of my arms. Before I know it, they have left me, kneeling on the floor, alone. I feel a presence next to me.

"I can give you a ride to the hospital, Mr. Gold." I don't reply. "You don't have to count this as a favor." I stood up without replying. "What happened? I walk out of the room for a couple minutes and all hell breaks loose." She grabs her coat and starts to walk out, but I stay frozen in place. She turns to look at me from the door. "Are you coming?" I snap myself out of my thoughts and follow her out without saying a word. We ride to the hospital in complete silence.

 **A/N: I hope you guys liked it. Next chapter will be back to Ava's POV. Will she wake up as Ava from Storybrooke, or the Enchanted Forest. You must wait until the next chapter to find out. Muahahahaha.**


	20. Waking Up

**A/N: Another chapter, yay! I know this one is a little shorter than usual, but I wanted to show what Ava thinks as she is waking up in Storybrooke. I hope you enjoy.**

Ava POV

I feel like my head is going to burst. What has happened to me? I feel like I have memories of two lives, and I'm trying to sort them out. Maybe that is why I feel so much pain. I don't want to open my eyes. The last thing I remember is that I put on a necklace, my necklace, and then I blacked out. I must be in the hospital. Who brought me here? Is anyone visiting me? I just broke up with Archie, or is it Jiminy? Would he come and visit me? Who would be here when I open my eyes? Would anyone be here?

I feel someone grab my hand. It feels so familiar. Yes. I know this hand. It is the hand of my true love. The corners of my mouth pull up into a slight smile. I feel so safe. I feel like nothing can harm me. These two sets of memories are pulling me in slightly different directions. One set of memories reminds me of how he used to be, and the other set reminds me that he let me be who I thought I was. He never forced me to remember, and I love him for that. The feeling of his lips softly pressing against my temple gets my attention.

"You can open your eyes, my love." He whispers in my ear. My smile grows.

"Why would I?" I answer. "I feel the best I have ever felt right now. In the limbo between consciousness and unconsciousness." He rested his forehead against mine.

"I'm sure it is a blissful feeling, but I wish to gaze into your eyes once again." He always knows what to say to me. Slowly I open my eyes and look into the eyes of my true love. He looks as he did before he became the Dark One. It makes me think back to those times. Sure, they were a hard time in both of our lives, but it was a great time in many ways as well. "There you are." He said with a huge smile on his face. We just looked into each other's eyes for I don't know how long, until someone cleared their throat. We looked towards the person. It was a doctor. Oh, what is his name? Whale, I think. Yes, Dr. Whale, that is his name.

"I see you have finally woken up." He says stating the obvious. "We have run some tests, while you were unconscious. We have gathered that what you experienced was just a massive migraine. I recommend that you see your regular physician for a follow up, but once you feel up to it you are free to leave. I already completed all of your discharge paperwork."

"Thank you." I said with a smile before the man left. I look over to Mr. Gold, or is it Rumpelstiltskin? I guess it is both, but in this world I should call him Mr. Gold. "Well, Mr. Gold, what should we do now? Should we go back to your place, or would that be too suspicious?" He smiled before softly laughing.

"We can do whatever you wish." He answered. "Who cares what anyone thinks in this town? We've never cared before, and I am one of the most powerful people here, if not the most powerful." That made me smile at how much he gloated, and I wrapped my arms around his neck. I feel as if I should be making up for lost time. My Storybrooke counterpart did not spend a lot of time with him, and I was craving his presence and touch. He hugged me around the waist, but remained sitting in the chair next to the hospital bed. This was a new chapter in our lives and I cannot wait for the rest of our story to continue.

 **A/N: Thank you for reading. I hope you liked it. I mentioned this before, but I really wanted to show their relationship, and Ava's mindset as she is waking up in Storybrooke. I am going to try really hard to keep up with this story on a regular basis, but I can't promise anything.**


	21. What Happened To Frederick?

**A/N: I am so sorry that this took so long. Work is crazy, and the holidays are worse. I will probably be able to post more often after the holiday season.**

Ava POV

Mr. Gold and I left the hospital soon after I awoke. He brought me back to his home, and as I walked in I noticed that some of the rooms looked very messy. He explained that Mr. French had broken in and stolen some of his belongings. At least he got everything back. It was decided that the mess would be cleaned up tomorrow, and we went to bed. For the first time in twenty-eight years we were finally together again. Nothing steamy happened, we just held each other until we fell asleep.

The next day, I woke up with Mr. Gold still laying beside me. Even before Regina cast the curse something like this would never happen. It was always too tempting. I just smile to myself as I gaze at his face. He looks so vulnerable, and I feel privileged to be trusted in this way. I gently press my forehead to his. It has been centuries since I have seen him in his original skin, when he was Rumpelstiltskin instead of the Dark One. I see and feel a slight shift in the muscles on his face, but he does not open his eyes. His breathing is less even, so I know for sure that he is awake.

"You can open your eyes, my love." I whisper the exact words he said to me at the hospital. I see a smile grow on his face.

"Why would I?" He whispered back. This makes me giggle as I pulled away from him. I just lay on my back, atop a comfy bed, and look towards the ceiling with a smile on my face. This is real bliss, it has to be. I could want nothing more or less at this very moment. Suddenly, I feel him come closer to me. I look at him, and I notice a puzzled expression across his features.

"What is it, Rumple?" I ask. He looks into my eyes as he begins to speak.

"I love having you back with me, Ava, but there is something that I can't wrap my head around." He just looks at me. I do not understand what he is trying to ask me. "How?"

"How, what?" I am genuinely curious what he wants to know. It is rare that he does not know something. Asking me should be a last resort. What could I know that he does not?

"How did you get your memories back?" Oh, well, I guess that is something I would know. I never really though that it would be too important, so I did not tell him.

"It is no fun if I just tell you. How about we make it into a little game?"

"What are the rules of this game, my dear?" I knew that would get him. He loves playing little games.

"I will allow you to guess how I was able to get my memories back, but you only get three guesses before you lose." He cracked a smile and I softly giggle.

"What do I receive _when_ I win?"

"Acting quite brash already. I believe that you will not be able to guess, but _if_ you guess correctly…" I have to think of something that he would be interested in winning. Ah! I have got it. "I will permanently move into this wonderful house with you."

"And, if I fail to guess correctly?" Coming up with a punishment for the Dark One is a tricky thing. I must have it be something that he would hate to have happen, but I should also be something that does not effect our relationship harshly.

"Hmm… That is a hard one." I look up to the ceiling hoping that it will give me an idea. " _If_ you fail to guess… you shall… tell me where you have hidden your dagger in this world." This was something that would not effect us too badly. I would only be told of where he has hidden it, and I would never betray his trust. I would never want to kill him, and I would never tell anyone of it's whereabouts. He thinks about it for a second before slightly nodding to agree to the terms of the game. "So, what is your first guess?"

"Well, you had been having vivid dreams of the Enchanted Forest since Emma came to town. Did they come back because the dreams finally fit together like puzzle pieces?" I thought about it for a second.

"Yes and no." I answered. "Guess number two?"

"Is it because you were spending so much time with the cricket?" I knew he was going to say something about Jiminy.

"No." I answer immediately. "You only have one more guess, my love. Use it wisely." He squints his eyes as he tries to think of the right answer. I can almost hear his wonderful brain straining. There is a long silence until he speaks.

"I will save my guess for later." He smirks at me, and I giggle.

"You just cannot think of anything else, can you?" I say in jest, but I know it is true. It is very rare that the great and powerful Dark One is stumped. I hop off the bed and try to find my pants, boots, and bra. No girl wants to sleep in a bra and jeans. I do not know why anyone invented bras. They are so uncomfortable all the time. Anyway, both of us get dressed and ready, then we head to Granny's diner. I am starving. I have not had anything to eat since before noon yesterday.

We walk into town side-by-side, but not holding hands or showing blatant affection for each other. The people in the town do not know of our relationship quite yet. Although, if they see us walking together, what will they think? I then realize that we can just tell people: Mr. Gold was worried about me going back to my apartment alone with some sort of head injury. That will not sound suspicious, will it? As we arrive at Granny's I notice the motorbike owned by August. I have a feeling I know who he is, but I am not quite sure yet.

"Ah, look who it is?" I see the bike owner walk into my line of sight. "I went to the bakery this morning, and I was surprised to see it closed." Oh, that is right, I totally forgot. I just stood there with my mouth open, and I am trying to figure out what I should say.

"Ava, actually, just got released from the hospital last night." Mr. Gold says so I do not have to explain. August then looks to me with concern.

"Are you alright? What happened?" He asks me.

"I am fine. It was just an intense migraine that made me black out." I wave it off as he sighs in relief. "I am going to be taking a few days off to relax and recover."

"Good idea. We can't be losing the town baker, now can we?" He smiled at me as I giggled. August got on his bike and put on his helmet before driving off. Mr. Gold then leads me into the diner. I am spotted as soon as I walk in the door.

"Oh, Ava, dear." I am suddenly engulfed in the warm arms of a familiar woman. It is Widow, but everyone calls her Granny. She lets go of me and looks me in the face. "Are you alright dear? I heard that you took a trip to the hospital." I take a deep breath. I know I am going to have to explain this many times over.

"I am fine. It was just a bad migraine." I smile and she smiles back. "Oh, I also want to warn you that I will be taking a few days off from work. I hope you understand."

"Of course, dear." She starts to walk back behind the counter. "It's probably because of all the stress of the bakery that you ended up in the hospital." I cannot deny that working every day was quite draining. I do not know how I have survived so far in this world. At this point, Mr. Gold leads me to a booth. I almost forgot that he was here with me. "I'll get Ruby to give you some menus." I look around the diner and I spot a blonde woman, Emma I think. She is talking to another woman with short dark hair. That has to be Snow, no it's Mary Margaret, M&M. I smile and giggle to myself. I look across the booth at Mr. Gold.

"Everything is so foreign and familiar at the same time." I say to him. "It is a wonderful feeling." I see Ruby walking towards us with some menus in her grasp. I smile up at her. "Hello, Ruby." I greet her.

"Hey, Ava." She looks at Rumple. "Mr. Gold" He nods to her and looks at the menu in his hands. I do not even have to look at the menu.

"I will just have some pancakes." I say as I smile at her. She smiles back before looking to the man sitting across from me.

"I'll have what she's having." He says as he hands Ruby the menu.

"I'll put that right in for you." She says before turning away.

The next few hours fly by. Mr. Gold and I catch up on just about everything. We avoid the topics of our children, and I talk about everything that has been happening with Mary Margaret and David. Once we finish our morning meal Gold escorts me back to my apartment. We get to the door, and before I go to unlock it I look around to make sure that no one is around besides the two of us. It is just us, so I quickly peck him on the lips. I enter my apartment and close the door before he can follow me in. I look around the small space and realize that I must clean up.

"I have to pick up this mess of a living space." I call through the door. I hear him chuckle before answering.

"Of course, my song bird." He answers back. "While you pick up the mess in there I shall think of my third and final guess." I smile as I hear his footsteps fade away. I take in my apartment once again, and shake my head as I start to pick up the stray clothing and clean the dirty dishes in the sink.

Hours later, I started to get hungry. I look in all of the cabinets, nothing. I look in the fridge and freezer, nothing. How could I let my supply of food get so low? A sigh makes its way out of my mouth as I grab my keys and head out the door to Widow's diner. As I walk up to the diner I hear a motorbike getting closer, so I turn to see August. My mouth twitches up into a smile.

"Well, hello there baker lady." He greets me.

"Hello, biker boy." He smiles and revs his bike.

"I've been missing the sugar cookies you make." He says to start a conversation.

"Well, like I said this morning, you are going to have to wait a bit." I say.

"I understand, but don't relax too much, you may lose those great baking skills." Did he really just say that? I swear I have heard those exact words somewhere. My expression falls. He sees my expression and grows concerned. "Are you alright? Did I say something wrong?"

"No." I say. "It is just that someone said that to me a while ago. He was a great guy."

"Was?" He asks. "Did you guys date?"

"No, no, no." I say waving my hands in front of me. "Just good friends. He was the Sheriff before Emma.

"Speaking of." He looks over my shoulder. I follow his gaze to see Emma walking out of the diner.

"You gonna come in?" she asks, pointing to the diner. "I thought you wanted that drink."

"I do." He yells over the hum of the motorbike. "But I didn't say here." He gestures to the back of his bike. "Hop on."

"You want me to get on the back of that bike?" She asks.

"That's what hop on means." He replies.

"How about if we go somewhere, I drive?" She tries to negotiate.

"How about you stop trying to control everything, and take a leap of faith?" Emma puts her hands in her pockets as she sighs. "You owe me a drink. Hop on. I know a good watering hole."

"If you don't I will." I hear Granny say from behind me. I turn around and smile at her before turning to look at Emma.

"Me too." I add with a giggle. She looks at the both of us in awe. She turns back to August as he hands her a helmet. She steps closer, takes the helmet and secures it on her head then gets on the bike. She holds him around the middle as they drive off down the road. Shaking my head, I walk into the diner with Widow following me.

"So, Ava," She starts as I sit on one of the stools at the counter. ", How are you feeling?" She makes her way to the opposite side of the counter.

"As good as I can be." I say. "No headaches today." I say as I pick up the menu.

"That's good, dear." She says. She sets a glass of water in front of me as I decide what I am hungry for.

"I will have a burger today." I say. She smiles at me as she puts my order into the kitchen. She comes back and leans on the counter.

"So, did you hear?" She asks me.

"Hear what?"

"Mary Margaret has been having an affair with David." She whispers to me. I already knew this fact, but I tried to seem surprised.

"No way." I say in mock shock. "She lives right next to me, and I never knew."

"Be careful around her, Ava. She is a bad influence." I know both David and Mary Margaret. I know both of their identities. No maliciousness was intended on either person's part. They are just drawn to each other. It is similar to what happened with Rumple and I. If I remember correctly, Widow told me to stay away from Mr. Gold. Look at me now.

"Um, Granny? Could you make my order two burgers instead of one?" I ask.

"Sure, dear."

"And make it to go, please?"

"Of course." She did not ask why, and I am grateful. About five minutes later a bag with two burgers and two orders of fries was set in front of me. "Here you go." I set the money for the meals on the counter and go to leave. The door of the diner opens and Pongo runs in, almost knocking me over as he puts his front paws up on my midsection.

"Hey buddy, long time no see." I say as I pet him.

"Sorry. He got away from me." Says the dog's owner. I look up at Archie. He is actually handsome in human form. Before, I only knew him as a cricket. "Oh, hey." He says realizing who I am.

"Hey." I say as Pongo gets off of me. An awkward silence falls between us. I choose to break the silence. "Um, dogs are not allowed in the diner, so if you want, I can go take him outside for you."

"Sure." He says as he holds out the handle of the leash to me. I go to walk past him, but he stops me. "Could we talk sometime?" He asks me. "About what happened? Between us?"

"Sure. I am a bit busy right now." He looks at my bag, noticing the two meals in my to go bag.

"Oh. I'm sorry." He says. I do not want people thinking I am going out with anyone, so I try to explain.

"I am not seeing anyone. This is for a friend who is feeling a bit down." He sighs in relief. "We can talk another time." He nods his head. I turn away and walk out of the diner. I tie Pongo to one of the post of the fence, treat him with a french fry, and head back to my apartment building. I do not go to my apartment door, but the one next door. I only have to wait a few minutes for my friend to arrive.

"Ava?" She asks with a slight whimper in her in her voice. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I live right next door." I state the obvious. The edge of her mouth twitches up into a bit of a smile. "I heard a rumor circulating about you and David. I know that rumor is true, but other people are taking it wrong." I hold up the bag of food. "I brought you some food to cheer you up." I watch as she starts to tear up. She walks closer and leans on me and shoves her face into my shoulder.

"What is happening with my life?" She sobs. I rub her back.

"It will be okay, M&M." I grab her shoulders and push her away so I can look her in the eye. "Open your door so we can eat, and you can vent some more to me." She nodded her head before turning to her door. We both enter and I set the food out on the counter, and we start eating. Mary Margaret talks about everything that was not supposed to go wrong, but did. David was supposed to tell his wife the truth about his relationship with Mary Margaret, but that did not happen. Hours later, after the food is finished and much of the big talking points are done, Emma walks in the door. The three of us talked for a bit, mostly about how she found Henry's book, then I headed back to my place next door.

The next day I wake up to a knock on my door.

"Ava!" My name is called through the door. "Are you awake in there?" I pull myself out of bed and make my way to the door. "Ava?" The person calls to me again.

"Hold on. I am coming." I say. I finally get to the door and open it to find Emma standing there. "Hey, Emma, what is wrong?" I ask in concern.

"It's Mary Margaret. She seems a bit down. I just wanted to ask if you could look in on her today." She says.

"Yeah, sure." I say. "I am taking the day off, so I can spend as much time with her as she needs."

"Good. Thank you. I just didn't want her to be alone all day." She smiled at me.

"Maybe I will make her some sweets to cheer her up a bit." I sort of say to myself, but out loud.

"Sounds good. Save something for me?" She asks as she walks away.

"Will do." I go back into my room to get dressed. Then, I head next door. I knock and wait for the door to open. I hear shuffling, then the doorknob turns and the door opens. "Hey, M&M."

"Hey." Her voice is so soft.

"Do you want some cookies and cupcakes?" I ask.

"No. I'm good." She walks away from the door, but she leaves it open for me to enter after her.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes I'm sure." She walks over to her room as I shut the door. She gets into bed and makes herself into the smallest ball she can. I sigh. I wonder what they have in their cabinets. I decide to be a bit nosey. Every shelf is scavenged for ingredients for possible treats I could make. I set it all on the counter to see what I could possibly make. Finally it comes to me.

I start mixing some ingredients in a bowl to make dough, then I make a filling. The filling is spread on top of a thick strip of dough. The strip is then rolled up and placed into a pan. I do this five more times before popping the pan in the preheated oven. I set a timer and start to make an icing. Once I am done with that I clean up the mess I have made. The timer goes off as I put back the last ingredient. I open the oven. A heavenly smell wafts out of the opening. I put on an oven mitt to take the pan out. It is set on top of the oven to cool. I set the timer again. Soon it goes off. I take a couple small plates, and put one of the sweets on each plate. The icing is drizzled on top of each. I then grab both plates and head into Mary Margaret's room.

"M&M?" I ask as I stand in the doorway. "Are you up for eating something sweet?"

"No." She says, still not looking towards me.

"Well, too bad." I say as I walk in. "I have yummy cinnamon rolls." I sit on the opposite side of the bed that she is laying on. "One for me and one for you." She finally starts to move around.

"I did smell it when it was baking." She turns around. "They even have icing, too?"

"You know me. When it comes to sweets I go all out." She finally cracks a smile. One of the plates is grabbed out of my hand as she sits up in bed. There is no talking. We just eat our cinnamon rolls, and when we are finished I take both plates and wash them in the kitchen sink. When I look back into M&M's room I see her lying in a ball again. If my baking cannot cheer her up, I do not know what will. I go sit in the living room until Emma comes back, hours later.

"How is she?" Emma asks as she takes off her coat.

"I tried to cheer her up with some cinnamon rolls, but I do not know how much it changed." I say as I stand up.

"Thank you for watching her." She says.

"No problem. Oh, and if you want to warm up one of those?" I say pointing to the other four rolls, still in the pan. "Just put it in the microwave for about ten seconds."

"Thanks." Emma says as she goes in to comfort Mary Margaret. I let myself out, and I head back to my apartment where I fall asleep.

 **A/N: I hope you guys like it. I love reading all of your comments. I would like to know what you are liking and what you are not liking so much so far. I love reading all kinds of reviews. Thank you for hanging in there and waiting for me to update. I keep thinking ahead to the future story lines in this series, but I have to focus on the season 1 story line for right now. Again, I hope you like this chapter, and I hope you continue to be patient with my updates.**


	22. Dreamer

A/N: I am so sorry that I have been taking so long between chapters. Work and trying to do something with my art degree have been taking up a lot of my time, so hang in there. I will try to start posting more often, but I make no promises.

Ava POV

A few days have passed since I left the hospital. I have stocked up on food in my apartment, and cleaned up jut about every inch of the floor, walls and ceiling. This is the last day off I am taking, because the Miner's Day Festival is coming up quick. I usually end up selling a ton of pastries and donating the money to the nuns, or the fairies. I know that Mr. Gold does not like them, but I cannot help but be generous. Speaking of Mr. Gold, I have not seen him since he dropped me off at my place. Maybe he does not want to see me again until he has a third guess for our game.

Anyways, I walk into the diner and sit at the counter. I look to my left and notice Leroy sitting there. One stool separates us. I order my usual and think about what I should do today. Should I start preparing for the festival? Should I look for Mr. Gold? As my pancakes are placed in front of me, two people come up beside Leroy and I. It was Mr. Clark and Walter. Mr. Clark sneezes as he starts to ask Leroy something.

"Excuse me, Leroy?" He starts. "Do you mind scooting over a seat so Walter and I can sit together?" Leroy looks back at them before answering.

"If I wanted to sit there I woulda sat there. If you want this seat, try dragging your sorry asses outta bed in the morning." Leroy has a point. He goes back to eating as Mr. Clark reacts.

"You're a real ray of sunshine, as usua-achoo!" Mr. Clark sneezes, somewhat in Leroy's direction. I do not believe that he did it on purpose, but it is sort of gross. Leroy gets disgusted, and I do not blame him.

"Congrats." Leroy says as he puts down his toast and wipes his mouth. "I just lost my appetite." I can tell that Mr. Clark feels bad. Leroy throws money down on the counter. "Seat's all yours." He gets up and heads for the door as the bell over the door rings. I turn to see Mary Margaret standing there with a clipboard. She takes off her coat and clears her throat.

"Excuse me." She says, but I am the only one paying attention to her. She clears her throat again. "Can I have everyone's attention please?" Now the entire diner is quiet. "I'm sorry to interrupt your morning, but I just wanted to remind everyone that a very special occasion is upon us." She says quickly. "Miner's Day. As always, the nuns of Storybrooke are hoping that everyone will get involved and will help sell their exquisite candles. All we need are a few energetic volunteers. So who wants to join me?" Oh God.

The diner is quiet for a second before everyone continues to eat their meals. No one wants to be associated with Mary Margaret right now. I can hear them whispering about her. Leroy walks up to her, but I think he just wants to leave the diner.

"Leroy, you wanna volunteer?" M&M asks excitedly.

"I wanna leave, sister. You're blocking the door." He says plainly.

"Of course." She says as she looks behind herself to the door. She moves out of the way as she continues to try to convince him to volunteer. "Uh, you know, if you wanted to help, it could really be good-"

"Oh yeah, right." He interrupts. "Quite a team we'd make, town harlot, town drunk. The only person in this town that people like less than me is you." That is a bit harsh. "If you're comin' to me? You're screwed." I finish my food and put money on the counter as Leroy finally leaves. I walk up to Mary Margaret and place a consoling hand on her shoulder.

"If I did not already have something to do for the festival, I would volunteer." I say.

"I know." She looks defeated as she puts her coat back on. And heads out the door.

"I could help you look for volunteers." I say as I follow her outside. "I am free all day. I have been trying to figure out what to do today." She does not answer me.

"Hey, mind if I join you?" Says the Sherriff from behind us. "So what the hell is Miner's Day, and why are you beating yourself up over it." She asks.

"It's an annual holiday celebrating an old tradition." Mary Margaret says.

"Yes. The nuns used to make candles and trade them with the miners for coal." I add.

"Coal? In Maine?" Emma asks. "If they were mining for lobster I'd understand."

"Look. I don't know. Now they use it as a fundraiser." M&M says. I look over at Emma.

"It is a great party." I say to Emma as we continue to walk down the street. "Everyone loves it."

"Doesn't seem like everyone loves it." Emma states.

"It's not Miner's Day," Mary Margaret says. "It's me. Last week I had ten volunteers, this week they all dropped out."

"You think this is about what happened with David?" Emma asked.

"Oh, I know it is. A few of them told me as much."

"It is awful." I pipe in. "The nuns should not suffer because of some small town gossip."

"I've never been a home wrecker before."

"It's gonna blow over. You made a mistake with David. It happens." Emma points out. "But, you don't have to do charity to win people's hearts back."

"Well, I have to do something." M&M says. "And this is the best I can do. I've ruined my life."

"No you have not ruined your life." I say as I place a consoling hand on her shoulder once again. Emma's cell phone rings, so she answers it.

"Sherriff Swan." She greets the person on the other end of the line. "Yeah. I'll be right down." She says after listening to what they had to say. She hangs up and turns to us. "Well, apparently duty calls." She looks to Mary Margaret. "Hang in there, and if there's anything I can do to help, I will."

"I know, thank you." M&M replies before Emma heads back towards the diner. The two of us continue on our way to the volunteer center.

"Hey, you know what? Can we stop at my bakery? I would like to bring the nuns a plate of cookies." I look over to her and she nods without saying anything. I pull out my keys when we get to the door of the bakery. We walk in and I head to the back to get started on the cookies. It takes a bit for the cookie dough to be finished. After that I place dollops of the dough on a tray and put them in the oven, which I had preheated already. I set the timer and I go to sit across from Mary Margaret. "Hey." I say to get her attention. "Everything is going to be fine."

"How can you say that, Ava? My life is falling apart." Her voice cracks.

"There was a time when I felt the same way, but look at me now. I have a bakery, and I have had love in my life. It's all about what happens in the long run. What is happening now is only a bump in the road."

"What you say seems right, but I just don't know." Mary Margaret says.

"I still remember when people thought there was something shady going on with Mr. Gold and me." She looks up at me as the timer dings. I get up as I continue to talk. "That blew over in a couple weeks, and I have never heard about it since." I put on my oven mitt and took the sheet of cookies out of the oven. I set the tray on a potholder lying on a nearby counter to cool and I set the timer again.

"You also have a thicker skin than I do." She replies. As I sit back down across from her.

"That's nonsense."

"It's true. Even when the rumors were going around it seemed like you weren't even effected by it." She did have a point, but I have always been like that. I have been through a lot, but so has she.

"You cannot be looking at what is happening right now. You need to look forward. All those rumors, however true they are, are not important." There is a long silent pause before the timer sounds once more. I get up and slide the cookies onto a serving plate. Saran Wrap then covers it. The oven is turned off, as I get ready to head over to the convent. "Alright, are we ready to head over?"

"Yeah." M&M gets up and we both leave the bakery after I lock up. The walk over to the convent is silent. It is okay, though. It gives me time to think about my whole situation. How did my magical object work in a place with no magic? I had set it up just in case I forgot my memories. I do understand why Regina left Rumple with his memories. She wanted him to separate him and I, and that would be a tactic to make him suffer. As we near the convent I look over to Mary Margaret.

"Are we ready to get to work?" I say to her with a smile. She turns to me with a, clearly fake, smile.

"Yeah." We enter the building and Mother superior, or Blue, greets us.

"I have been waiting for you two." She says to us with a bright smile on her face.

"I am sorry we were late." I say, stepping forward. "I thought I would bring some treats." I hold out the serving plate of cookies.

"The girls will love them, thank you Ava." She says as she takes the plate from me. "I will get this plate back to you as soon as it's empty."

"No rush." I smile at her.

"Follow me to the event planning room." We follow her in more silence. The room is small, but it is big enough for the nuns and us to get things done. Mary Margaret gets right to work as she sits at an empty table. We try to figure out how to get more volunteers to help with the candles. About an hour later I look over to the door and notice Leroy standing there with a cookie in his hand. I glare at him as he makes his way towards our table.

"Excuse me, but those were meant for the nuns." I say to him.

"Well, a nun gave it to me. I'm a bit hungry after my breakfast was sneezed on." I huff at him as he turns to Mary Margaret who has now looked up at the man. "Where do I sign up?" She goes back to working. "What?" Neither of us answered him. "I wanna volunteer to sell candles."

"No you are not. You made that very clear this morning after your breakfast was sneezed on." I throw that back at him.

"You gonna let your attack dog talk to me like that?" He asks.

"She's not a dog." She finally speaks to him. "She's a friend, and at least she is trying to help me. No ulterior motives. She took time out of preparing for her bakery stall to help me."

"Maybe I saw the light." He says. "Maybe somebody showed it to me." He moves closer to being behind the table we are sitting at. "What difference does it make, sister? It looks like you can use all the help you can get, if your only help is the baker who has her own booth to worry about." I sigh before speaking.

"He does have a point, M&M. I cannot put my all into helping you if I have my own preparations to do." Leroy is crude, rude, and grumpy (Ha!) all the time, but he is the only one willing to help, no matter what his angle is.

"Okay, I need help manning the candle booth." She finally concedes. "But, no swearing." Leroy holds his right hand up in a gesture to promise that he would do what she said. "No drinking, and I get to call all the shots." She grabs the sign-up sheet and thrusts it toward the man who starts to fill it out.

"You ordered how many tanks of helium?" Mother Superiors voice is heard throughout the room. Oh no. Someone messed up.

"I meant to order twelve." The nun replied.

"You ordered twelve dozen." Blue says to the poor girl. I look back to the paperwork that Mary Margaret is filling out. The convent is going to need all the help it can get.

"Hey, M&M." I say to get her attention. "I am really sorry, but I have to get going. I need to get my baked goods ready for my booth."

"Of course, go." She says in an understanding voice. "Could I ask you save something chocolate for me tonight?"

"Sure. No problem." I say as I get up from the table. "I will see you later." She waves to me as I head back to my bakery. As I go to unlock my door I hear the familiar stride of the person walking towards me.

"Have you come to tell me your final guess?" I smile as I turn to him.

"Maybe." He answers. I open the door and invite Mr. Gold inside. "Maybe I just missed you." I quickly shed my coat and put my apron on as I turn the ovens on. As I get the ingredients together he continues to speak. "I believe I know what happened, but I have to be completely sure." I glance over at him and smirk. "Am I able to ask you some questions about it before I use up my final guess?" I stopped what I was doing to look at him. I pondered his question.

"I guess that is only fair." He smiles as he goes to sit down at one of the tables. "Just let me get a few things in the oven first."

"Of course, dearie." I get a few trays of different types of cookies in the oven before I set the timer and go to sit across from Rumple.

"So, what would you like to ask me?" I say as I smile at him.

"I have just one." He looks at the charm around hanging from a chain on my neck. "You passed out when the necklace was placed on you. It has something to do with that, correct?" I smile and touch my nose with my pointer finger. He smiles back. "I believe I can make that final guess now." He pauses a moment. "My final guess is that you cast some sort of charm on your necklace to bring back your memory once it was back with you." My smile grew larger as he finished his guess. I look outside and notice that no one is walking by outside. I lean forward and plant a kiss on his lips.

"I guess I should start packing up my apartment." I giggle. He smiles and brings me in for another kiss. As we break the kiss I glance outside to see Archie walking by with Pongo. My face falls. Mr. Gold notices my change in expression, and he follows my gaze.

"Don't worry about him, my little song bird." He says to me.

"But, I cannot help it. He does not know what our relationship is meant to be. He just knows that he cares for me very much. He is rationalizing it as romantic love when it should be the love of a friendship." I say.

"Soon enough he will understand." He replies.

"How soon is soon, my love? How long must I be burdened with my memories." He grasps my hand and kisses the back of it.

"I do not know, but you always have me to talk to about your memory struggles, my dear." The timer goes off and my attention is shifted to the cookies in the oven. As I set the hot trays aside to cool I start making the next batches. As I put the new trays in the oven the bell over my door rings.

"I am sorry, but we are not currently open. You can get some cookies at my Miner's Day booth later." I call to the person that just entered.

"Oh yeah? Then why is he in here?" Says a gruff voice. I turn to see Leroy. "I'm not here for a cookie. I came to find him." He says as he points to Mr. Gold. "I have something I would like to sell to you." He says talking to my love.

"Do you?" He sounds skeptical. Which he should be. "Well, show me to this item you would like to sell, and I will decide if I even want it." He stands up and turns to me. "I will see you later dearie." I smile and nod to him as they both leave the bakery. At least now I can focus on getting ready for my booth.

Gold's POV

I follow Leroy to the docks. I hope he intends to offer me something good. I don't want to waste any of my time on a deal that won't benefit me. And he took me away from Ava. She is struggling in this world. She is struggling with having to keep the truth from her friends. The only people she would be able to talk to without being called crazy are Regina and me. Regina doesn't hate Ava, but she is not the biggest fan of Mary Margaret or me, and those are the people Ava is closest to. I need to get done with this dwarf's nonsense and get back to her as soon as I can. The man stops in front of a small boat parked at the dock.

"Here it is. Now, I know it's a bit of a fixer-upper. It could probably use a new coat of paint, a few spritzes of Febreze here and there, but you can't tell me that five thousand's not a reasonable price for this beauty." Really? Five thousand? It's a piece of junk. I would be loosing money at that price.

"Three thousand, I think." I offer up.

"I need five." He says as he turns to face me.

"You _need_ five? To what do we owe this specificity?" I ask.

"I'm tryin' ta help out a friend."

"Oh, I see."

"Look, you don't even have to pay me anything, just forgive one month's rent for the nuns." I get it now. The nuns need help with the rent, and he has a soft spot for them for some reason.

"The nuns?"

"You can have the boat, they'll pay you back eventually, it's a good deal. You get everything."

"So that's what this is about."

"Come on. You're a rich guy. You can afford to give'em time to make up one month's, right?" He says. "I mean, you've done that for the baker many times." Why did he have to bring up Ava? It's not her fault that the entire town started a rumor about her and I. I forgave a few months rent because they refused to buy anything from her.

"You're right, I could."

"So great."

"But I won't" His expression falls. "I have a fairly specific rental agreement. If they miss a payment, I'm within my rights to evict."

"Oh, come on."

"And honestly, it's gonna be a great relief to be rid of such distasteful tenants."

"You don't like nuns?" Well, they aren't just nuns. "Who doesn't like nuns?"

"Oh, I have my reasons." They broke up my family. Why would I forgive them? "And they're mine. Let's just say I have a long and complicated history with them, and leave it at that." With the end of my sentence I walk away, off the dock and back into town. I need to check in with Ava, and then start planning for her move into my place. I enter the bakery and see that my little bird is boxing up her goods.

"You're back." She says. "Did he have anything of value?" She asks.

"He wanted to sell me his boat for five thousand." She looks up at me.

"It will be a bit of a project. I would say it is worth no more than three thousand." I smirk at her. She has caught onto my tastes from being around me so much, I guess.

"That's exactly what I said."

"Did he take the money?" I sit down at the table as she continues to box up more of the cookies.

"No. He insisted on five thousand and no less."

"Why?"

"Apparently, he wanted to help the fairies pay their rent." She looks over to me and a soft expression filled with pity is present in her features. "You think I should just forgive them for what they did? To me? To Bae?"

"They were only trying to help a boy with his wish to have his father back." She finishes up packaging the baked sweets. "It was not as malicious as you wish to believe."

"Why do you always defend them?"

"Because at the time you and Bae went missing, you were becoming a bit sick with the power of the Dark One." To her and the town it seemed that way, I guess. "And must I remind you that I was not told about what happened until about a century later when I finally found you again." She loaded the smaller boxes into a larger box that can be used to roll items somewhere. It is a long distance to the convent, so she was not going to just carry the boxes the entire way. "You not informing me of your leaving is one of the marks against you in my personal book." I have regretted not telling her about my journey to get Bae back since she found me years later.

"Well, I have made my decision and I'm not changing it now." I say.

"I don't expect you to, but that means I need to sell my cookies at a higher price to help them out. And because the cookies are just that good, they will gladly pay that higher price." She smiles at me. I know they will pay whatever she charges. Her baking is the best I have ever tasted. "Now, I need to get to my booth." She holds open the front door for me, and I reluctantly leave the bakery.

"I'll be at my shop if anyone needs me."

"Anyone except for the nuns." She clarifies.

"You know me so well." I say with a sneer as I head back to my shop.

Ava POV

He is so infuriating sometimes. He only thinks about how things affect him. He never sees it from the other side. I guess that is the whole point of me hanging around. I give him the views of the other side. With all of the good times we have had, there have been bad times. We fought over the things he did, the deals he made. I roll the box of cookies up to my booth and start to set up. Soon night falls, and people are lining up to purchase their favorite cookie flavors. Everyone thought I wouldn't be attending the event because of my visit to the hospital, and they were pleasantly surprised.

A couple hours into the festivities a loud noise sounded and all of the lights flickered before going out. People screamed and started worrying about their safety. I look around to see what was happening. Soon, I see people flocking to one booth. A few minutes later I see everyone with a candle, and a smile makes it on my face.

"Good job, M&M." I whisper to myself. I sell my last cookie about a half hour later. As I start to pack up someone comes to the front of my booth. "I'm sorry but we're sold out."

"I hope you saved something chocolate like I asked earlier." The person said. I stand up and smile at my neighbor and best friend.

"Of course I did. I set some aside at the bakery." She handed me a lit candle and I took it happily. I walked out from behind my booth, rolling my empty cookie box and full moneybox behind me. "Just let me give this cash to the nuns, and we can enjoy the rest of the festivities." She nods and waits at my both. I walk up to Mother Superior and hand her the box of money. She thanks me excessively as I go back to Mary Margaret. She is watching, as David is being put in the back of the Sherriff's car and driven away. "What is that all about?"

"I'm not sure." Mary Margaret's voice is filled with worry.

"I am sure it is nothing, M&M. Come on. Let us enjoy this festival." Reluctantly, she agrees. We walk around, eat some good food, and play a few games before heading back home. We stop at the bakery to drop off my box and pick up the chocolate cookies I made for my friend. We stay up talking about the events of the day, and I even tell her that Mr. Gold and I have 'started a relationship'.

"What? No way." She thinks I am kidding.

"No joke." I say back. "He has been pining after me for a long time." I take a sip of milk before continuing. "I decided to try it out after my visit to the hospital."

"Oh my God. I still think your joking." I just look at her as she starts to realize that I am really not kidding. "You're not joking, though, are you?"

"No." I reply.

"He's so different from Archie."

"I know, but maybe that is a good thing for me, right now."

"It seems like you've been happier than usual. I just thought it was because I've been so miserable lately." She says.

"Oh, and could you help me pack up my things tomorrow?"

"What? Why?"

"I have decided to move in with Mr. Gold." I answer.

"Isn't this a bit soon? She said almost choking on the piece of cookie in her mouth.

"Maybe so, but I think it is going to be the right thing to do for the relationship. I will still come and visit you often. I just will not be living next door." She is still looking at me like I am a crazy person. "Plus, I will save money from all the rent I do not have to pay." I giggle. She finally cracks a smile at my comment.

"Okay, if it's what you want, who am I to stop you?" She smiled at me. As we finish the cookies we say our goodbyes. We share a hug before I leave, and I head over to my apartment to sleep there for the last time. Tomorrow I shall move in with the love of my life. I get in bed and pull out my phone to call him. It rings on his end a couple times before he picks up.

"Hello, my sweet." He says as he answers the phone.

"Hello, my love. I just wanted to call you to say goodnight."

"Hopefully the last one we will have to say over the phone." He says.

"Yes, and I have asked Mary Margaret to help me pack up my things tomorrow."

"So she knows?"

"That I am moving in with you?" I ask. "Yes, she does. I could not just leave without telling her why."

"What did she think about it?"

"She believes that we are moving to fast. She does not know how wrong she is." I say laughing a little.

"I am glad I will be able to see you every day, my sweet songbird." He says.

"The faster we get to sleep, the faster tomorrow comes." I point out.

"You are correct, dear Ava. So, I shall bid you a good night." I can hear the smile in his voice.

"Good night, Rumplestiltskin." I whisper through the phone. Sometimes the walls seem to be paper thin, and I do not wish for someone to overhear me calling him his name from the Enchanted Forest. I reluctantly hang up and tuck myself in. I close my eyes to speed up the process of falling asleep.

A/N: Thank you for reading. I hope you like it so far. I know I have not done a chapter from the past in a while. There are a lot of things that happen between Rumple and Ava in the past, but I don't know when to put them so they make sense with what is happening in the present. I think I will try to do one for the next chapter, but I think it will be shorter than my other chapters. Keep on the lookout for that.


	23. Saving Memories

A/N: Woohoo! Another chapter. This is a short chapter in the Enchanted Forest before the Curse was cast. I feel like I have been neglecting Ava's past a bit since she has gotten her memories back. I hope you guys enjoy.

I stand in the library of the Dark One's castle. He is supposed to be away making a deal. I gaze at the expanse of books before me. I need to figure out a fail safe. This curse, that Regina will eventually cast, will take away memories from all affected. The fail safe I am trying to create will, or might, allow me to get my memories back. I will not be able to test it out until I am in the situation. That is what is making this hard. I do not know where to start.

Maybe the memory spells. I hold my hand out and pull a book off a high shelf, and it floats down to me. It lands in my hand. I head over to the table, and I open to the table of contents. I look for something that would possibly help. My finger finds a chapter labeled, breaking a memory spell. The chapter started close to the end of the book. It is something that most people would not need to look into. If you were to cast a memory loss spell or charm, you do not need to know how to break it. True love's kiss will always break any magic, but sometimes it would take something else. If the person is under said spell and their true love is dead, then it needs to be broken another way.

I start reading the dry material in this chapter. Word by word I struggle to really understand what the words on the page truly meant. My mind is racing, trying to figure out how the information in the book could be translated into action. The end of the chapter has come, and I still did not understand how I could help keep my memories or restore others. Back at the table of contents and nothing sounded like it would help me. I turn back to the shelves and pull a couple more books down. I look through their table of contents, and nothing. This keeps happening. No matter what book I read through, I found nothing to help me.

Soon I give up and start to cry. All of the books are off the shelves. Some are stacked neatly, and some are haphazardly lying open on the floor. I cry out in frustration as I toss the book I had been reading to the side, but it did not clatter to the floor. In my state of mind, I did not notice.

"What is all this, my dear?" I look to where the voice originated as I slump into a nearby chair. He looks at the open page of one of he books on the floor. "Trying to figure out some sort of spell?" I take a deep breath and buy my head in my hands. "Judging by the open pages I see, it has something to do with memories." I continue to say nothing. "Is there something you would like to tell me, dear Ava? What memories would you like to get rid of?"

"I do not wish to get rid of any of my memories!" I yell with the last of my frustration. "I wish to preserve them." Tears prick at the edge of my eyes. "This curse will give the castor the ability to give us new stories, new memories. I do not want new memories if I will only forget my old ones. I do not want to forget Belle, I do not want to forget Bae, I do not want to forget my relationship with you." I face him and he steps closer with every word I speak. "I believe I shall not exist if I forget all of that. I will not be me." I can feel the streams making their way down my cheeks. Rumple guides me to stand as he embraces me.

"Don't you think like that, dearie. You and I will continue to exist, and as long as we exist then we shall eventually remember our children." He pulls away from me and looks me in the eye. "Everything will be alright. There is no need to fret." He turns to the books all around the room and with a wave of his hand, they are all back in their place. "Now," He says, turning back to me. "You must rest those pretty little eyes of yours." He gently wipes away the rivers of tears. "Perhaps, you will be able to find the information you are looking for once you have gotten some sleep." I am lifted into his arms as he carries me to my room. I wrap my arms around his neck and nuzzle closer to him. His scent is intoxicating. I would try to start our family right in this hallway if it would not cause him to lose his powers. We finally make it to my room, but he does not set me down at the door. He enters and makes his way to the side of my bed. I am gently placed on the edge. He steps back and with another wave of his hand I am dressed in my sleeping attire. He pulls back the top sheet and then tucks me in. "I hope you have sweet dreams." He says before placing a chaste kiss on my forehead. Then, he was gone in a cloud of smoke. Soon I drift off to dreamland.

Many weeks later, Rumple is in Snow White's dungeon, I am baking pastries for the king and queen and everyone else in the castle. But, I still find time to go to the library in the castle. Perhaps it will have the information I need for keeping my memories. Of course Rumple has built into the curse that a savior will break it eventually. I would just like to keep my memories for the duration of the curse until it is broken.

I finally find a book on how to hide something in magical items. This sparks much interest. In the table of contents there is a list of different items you may be able to hide something inside of: Stones and Small Gems, Jewelry, and Weapons. I open to the chapter about Jewelry. The chapter itself has a table of contents. I find an actual section on storing memories. As I read this section, my face lights up. This is exactly what I wished to know.

It informed how to store the memories in the item, and how to get the memories out of the item. It was all straightforward. The incantation was right on the page, and all I had to do was keep the item on me to retain the memories kept inside. Immediately, I grab ahold of the necklace hanging from my neck. I whisper the incantation and a light blue glow surrounds the charm on my necklace. There is no way to test if this has actually worked until the curse has been completed. I close the book before placing it back where I found it.

"There you are, miss Ava." A small voice says from the door of the library. I turn to see Pinocchio with Jiminy on his shoulder.

"Hello, you two. What did you seek me out for?"

"We were hoping you made some extra cookies today." The cricket says.

"Well, lucky for you I hid some away in the kitchen." I made my way over to them. "If you come with me, I will show you where my secret stash is." The boy's face lit up and he started to run towards the kitchen. The cricket jumped off of the boy's shoulder and landed on my own.

"What were you doing in the library, Ava?" Jiminy asks as I start to follow the excited boy.

"I was just catching up on a bit of reading." I answer simply.

"I doubt that is all you were doing, but I won't pry." I smile at his words and continue on the long journey to the kitchen on the opposite end of the castle.

A/N: I hope you guys liked this chapter. It is super short compared to the other chapters, but I just wanted to put this up as quickly as possible. I have been binge watching Once Upon A Time on Netflix, and I can not get enough. I just started season 5 today, and I can not wait until I get to that point in my story. I have so many ideas, but I can't get ahead of myself. This story is only a little more than half way through season 1. Once the summer hits I might be able to post chapters of all my stories more often.


	24. Red-Handed

A/N: Alright! :) Another chapter. I have to say that the reason for posting so much it that I have been trying to catch up with the show. I am on the 5th episode of the 5th season, and I am still obsessed. I want to get there with this story, but we have a long way to go. Slow and steady, guys, right?

Move in day was successful and I could not be happier. Mary Margaret seemed to be happy for me, but kept asking me if I really wanted to do this. I kept telling her that I could not imagine living another day alone in that apartment. And it is true. After Mary Margaret leaves I start to clean up the messiness around the house. There had been books and knick-knacks all over the place. Many of the items I recognize from the castle we used to live in.

"Ava, dear." Rumple says from the doorway of the front room. I turn from the mess in front of me to my love. "What are you doing?" A smirk is present on his face.

"I'm cleaning up this mess you seem to have left for me, my love." I smile back at him.

"Well, you can hold off on cleaning for now. Would you like to go get something to eat? To celebrate the move?"

"When you put it like that, how can I refuse?" I walk up to him and place my hand in his waiting one. "To Granny's?"

"As you wish." He opens the front door for me as I get my coat on. We drive to Main Street and park in front of the Pawn Shop. We get out and walk the rest of the way to the diner, arm-in-arm. As we walk up the few steps I laugh at the information he has just told me.

"Did you really kidnap him?" I ask as he opens the door for me.

"Would I lie to you about that, my dear." He replies with a smile.

"I suppose you would not." I say after stepping into the diner. I look around at the patrons still here. It is pretty late, but there are two or three people eating. None of them look up as we enter. We walk to a booth near the back of the room. I sit on the side that faces the front door, and as Rumple sits down I see the strange man named August. Some reflex causes me to smile at the man, and when he notices me he smiles back.

"Is this going to be a more common occurrence?" Asked a woman's voice from the open end of the booth. I look up to see Widow. She glares at Mr. Gold as I answer her.

"Perhaps. Um. Could we just get a large order of fries?" I say placing our order. She looks to me and smiles.

"Of course, honey." She turns to the kitchen to put in our order. I grab the charm on my necklace and start rubbing it like a worry stone.

"I know you are not a popular person, but I do not like when they speak that way to you." I whisper to Mr. Gold.

"Don't worry. I've grown used to it at this point." He replies. I sigh, knowing that it is just the way it will always be. My gaze falls on August again. He is talking to Ruby about traveling all over the world. He talked about a place called Nepal with animals called Lemurs. Granny brings us our fries, and we start to eat as she tries to get Ruby's attention.

"I do not know what to think about that man." I whisper to Mr. Gold as I gesture to August with a fry.

"I've been trying to figure out his story myself." As he finishes his sentence, an argument between Granny and Ruby escalates into a yelling match that the entire diner can hear.

"Well, as long as you work here," Granny says as she closes the record-keeping book for the diner. "You are gonna listen to me."

"I didn't ask to work here." Ruby says in return as they walk on opposite sides of the counter. My eyes follow their movements. Seeing them argue breaks my heart.

"Then, what's keepin' ya?" Granny asks.

"Nothing!" Ruby yells. "I quit!" She takes off her apron and slams the front door on her way out. I do not blame the girl. Widow has always been so protective of her, but it is for a good reason. I look down at the fries left on the plate. Most of the fries are still left on the plate.

"I think that is enough drama for tonight." I say as I look to Rumple.

"Alright." He nods. "We can get a to-go box for the fries and head back home." I smile at his words as he gets Granny's attention.

"I like the sound of that." In a matter of minutes we got a to-go container, paid for the fries and left the diner. All I can think about now is going home with Rumple and falling asleep in his arms. As we exit the diner I see Ruby standing at the bus stop with a small suitcase. She is talking to Mary Margaret and Emma as we walk to Mr. Gold's car. We get to the car and Mr. Gold opens the passenger side door for me. "Why thank you, sir" I say with a giggle.

"You are quite welcome, my dear." He says before closing the door and heading over to the driver's side. As we pass by the bus stop I see Ruby walking away with Emma and M&M. At least Ruby will be okay for tonight. I relax in my seat as the drive continues. Sleep almost takes me on the short ride, so when we finally come to a stop I am grateful. I exit the vehicle on my own and follow Rumple up the driveway.

We gain entry and I head straight to the bedchamber as Rumple puts the to-go container in the fridge. I get dressed in a loose shirt and a clean pair of underwear before getting comfy in the large bed. I end up falling asleep before Rumple makes it into the room. I dream of being in the Enchanted Forest, flying over it actually. Slowly I start to wake up when I realize that I did not set any sort of alarm. I bolt upright in bed feeling resistance of some sort. I look down to see that Rumple's arm wrapped around my middle. I snicker as I lay back down.

"Rumple, I have to get to the bakery." I whisper as I gently move a piece of hair out of his face.

"Not today." He says with a smile. He pulls me closer to him and I giggle more.

"Yes, today. It is my first day going back to work, my love." Reluctantly, he releases his hold on me. I gently kiss his forehead before I get out of bed to get ready for work. As I finish getting dressed Mr. Gold finally gets out of bed to get ready. "I will only be working until around five." I tell him. "And if you wish to visit me, you know where I will be." He grunts in reply. "I might bring Emma something around noon, though." I say more to myself.

"Alright, dearie." He says from across the room. "I'll come visit at some point today."

"I look forward to it." I smile at him before heading out. As I finally make it into the bakery I see Gold drive up and park in front of the Pawn Shop. A smile stays on my face as I get the pastries ready for the day. I make a delivery to Granny's. I can tell she is feeling a bit overwhelmed without Ruby here to help her. Then I go back to the bakery to officially open up for the first time since my trip to the hospital. Soon, noon comes and I close up shop to take Emma a plate of chocolate chip cookies.

"Hello?" I say as I knock lightly on the open door of the Sherriff's office. Three sets of eyes look towards me. I hold out the plate of cookies, covered in plastic wrap. "I brought a little something for you to snack on." Henry takes the plate from me, and throws the plastic wrap in the trash before starting to eat one of the cookies.

"He was just talking about wanting chocolate chip cookies." Emma says from the middle of the room.

"I guess it is a good thing I brought something with me." I laugh out. "He would have been so upset if I came here empty handed."

"Yeah, for sure." Emma said. As I make my way farther into the room Ruby smiles at me before slipping out the door.

"Where is she off to?" I ask.

"She works here now." Henry says as he grabs another cookie.

"Since when?"

"Since, about a minute ago." Emma replies with a smile. "So, back in business?"

"Yes. I am so happy to be back to work." I smile and sit next to Henry at a desk. Suddenly M&M runs in and goes straight to Emma.

"David's in the woods." She says. I scrunch up my face at that information.

"Why would he be in the woods?" I ask.

"I don't know." She says. Turning her head to look at me. "There's something wrong with him." The worry in her voice is clear to detect as she looked back to Emma. "He looked right through me. It's like, it's like he was a different person." That cannot be good. Emma looks to Henry and I before getting ready to head out to investigate.

"Hey, kid, clean up your stuff. I gotta go look for David." Henry puts some things into his bag before putting the storybook in one of the locked desk drawers. "Could you make sure he gets back to his mom?" She asks me.

"Yeah, no problem." I look at the plate of cookies. "You want the rest of those, Henry?" He looks up to me with a smile and nods. "Alright, we have to stop by the bakery to get you a little container for them, okay?"

"Yup." He answers. Then the boy turns to his birth mother. "You know, you can let Ruby do more. She's Little Red Riding Hood."

"With the little basket?" Emma says. I can tell that she continues to be in denial about what this town really is. "Yeah, she seems like a badass."

"She is. She just doesn't remember how cool she is." Henry explains. "What she's capable of, but it's true." The boy starts to walk out of the room, so I take that as my cue to leave with him. We pass Ruby on the way out and bid her farewell. We walk to the bakery and grab a to-go box for the left over cookies. As we leave to go to Regina's house I make a call to the love of my life. It rings a few times before he picks up.

"Hello, my little song bird. To what do I owe this lovely call?" Mr. Gold says as he picks up.

"I just wanted to tell you that my afternoon break is going to be a bit longer than I expected." I inform him.

"Who are you talking to?" Henry asks. I put a finger up to my lips to tell him to be quiet for now.

"Well, that was nice of you, my dear, but you didn't have to call me."

"I know, but I just adore hearing you talk." I giggle. "I will see you later, my love."

"I look forward to it, dearie." He says before I hang up the cell phone. I look down to the boy I am escorting.

"So, who were you talking to?" He repeats his question. I ruffle his hair as I answer.

"None of your business, kid." He giggles at my actions.

"Whoever it was, they seem to make you happy." He says. "You just seem happier lately."

"They do make me feel happier, Henry." I say with a big smile. We continue down the road as we continue our conversation. "It seems like Emma still refuses to believe in the book and it's stories." I point out.

"Yeah, it's so frustrating." Should I tell him that I have my memories back? No, then he will just ask how it happened, and why the magic works in this world. Even I would not be able to answer that question. We turn onto the street with the Mayor's office and walk up to the door in silence. Henry leads the way inside. He runs up the stairs and I try to keep up. The kid has been known to be a flight risk, and I just wanted to make sure that he got to Regina without causing problems. I finally reach the top, but I have to stop to catch my breath. I am so out of shape. Maybe I should go on a diet, but I love food. Maybe I should go on more walks in the park. Maybe I will borrow Pongo. Oh. I have to talk to Archie. Should I talk to Archie?

"Baker?" Oh yeah, I am here to drop off Henry. I look up at Regina's scowling face. Her arms are crossed in front of her as the boy stands next to her. "What are you doing here?"

"Emma had some investigation in the woods to go do, so she asked me to make sure Henry got here okay." I answer still trying to breathe normally. She takes the to-go box of cookies out of Henry's hand.

"And what are these?" She says with irritation seeping from her tone.

"They are chocolate chip cookies." I say, finally being able to catch my breath and I stand up straight. "I made them for Emma, but Henry wanted them instead. You can have some if would like."

"No, I don't want any cookies, and Henry is not having any either." There is a trashcan nearby, and she immediately throws the box away.

"Now, that is just rude." I say as I glare at the woman who has just thrown my hard work away.

"You've done what Emma asked of you. You can fly away now." She shoos me away with the flick of her risk and walks into her office. Henry does not move. He gives me a sympathetic look.

"I'm sorry miss Ava." He says. "I guess I'll see you later." Slowly he turns and drags his feet to follow his adoptive mother. I turn around and walk down the stairs that I had just chased Henry up a couple minutes ago. I drag my feet as I walk back to the bakery. I reach the door, but I pause before looking towards the Pawn Shop. I do not feel like working anymore today, so I start walking towards Mr. Gold's shop. As I reach the window of the shop I glance in to find that Rumple is not in the front room. He must be out back. He will come out of the back room when he hears the bell over the door ring.

I enter, and the bell rings, but no one comes out of the back room. I turn to the, now closed door, and switch the 'Open' sign to 'Closed'. Why would he not come out if a customer came in? I head straight to the back room. Pushing the heavy curtain from my path, I enter the small room. It is empty of any living thing. Just a bunch of objects I recognize from the castle we used to live in, and a small cot. He must have just forgotten to lock up the shop when he left. How could he forget to lock up, though? I decide that I should stay until he returns. Someone needs to watch the valuables here.

I begin to walk around the shop and take a look at everything out in the open. In the front room I walk around behind the counter and spot a white box tied closed with twine. I lift it from a low shelf and set it on the counter. Why am I being drawn to this box? I want to open it so bad. I bite my bottom lip as I take the twine in my hands and untie it. A breath, I did not know I was holding, escapes my mouth. I feel the corners of my mouth lift up into a smile. A hand is placed on either side of the lid. I pause as I hear the bell over the front door sound.

"Well, this is quite a surprise, my dear." I look up to the man as he limps over to the opposite side of the counter. My hands do not move from the lid of the box as he stands in front of me.

"It is your fault, my love." I smile at him. "The front door was open and the sign made me think that you were present. When I found that you were not here I decided to guard all of these valuables until you returned." He glances down at the box between us.

"And you decided to also go looking through those valuables, I see." He says

"Well, I figured that what is yours, is also mine." I look down at my hands before continuing. "And this box was calling out to me."

"As it should, dear Ava." I look up at him, confused.

"What do you mean?"

"The item in that box," He replies, pointing at the object. "Was and is yours." I continue to look at him, confused. "Do you think I don't know what everything is in my shop?"

"No, it is just that, if this item is mine, why did you not give it back to me once I got my memories back?" It has been many days since my hospital visit.

"I was waiting for a special occasion."

"What special occasion?" I ask.

"I was hoping to gift it to you once the curse on this town has been broken." My eyes soften at his words. "But, you may have it now, if that's what you want." The draw to the item inside the box is strong, but the feeling of putting off the gratification seems better somehow. My hands leave the lid to tie the twine back in place.

"I shall trust you, and I look forward to the reveal of the object in this box." I smile at him. "I hope this curse gets broken soon."

"As do I, my love." He says as he grabs the box and heads to the back room. "Everything is going to plan." He disappears behind the heavy curtain for a few minutes. When he re-emerges he makes his way to me. "Now, why have you graced my presence? I thought you were going to work until around five o'clock."

"I was, but Regina upset me." Rumple's brows knit together in confusion. "My lunch was extended because I had to bring Henry back to her. Emma had to go into the woods to do some more investigation on the missing woman." He nodded, understanding.

"How did Regina upset you, my dear?" he asked as he pulls out a book that keeps track of his shop's profits. I know he is good at multi-tasking, so I start telling him my about the incident.

"Well, I made chocolate chip cookies for Emma, but she politely declined them. Henry said he would take them, so I put them in a container for him to take home." I lean on the counter in front of him, with my elbows resting on the surface. "When we arrived at the Mayor's office, Regina took the container of cookies from the boy and threw them in the trash, right in front of me." I look down at my finger, making nonsensical patterns in the light layer of dust on the counter. "You know, you should really clean up this place. Everything has a layer of dust on it." I say getting distracted.

"Ava, you and I both know how Regina can be." I turn back to him. "Plus, she doesn't want Henry to develop a cavity." He smiles. I scoff at his answer.

"I never knew anyone with a cavity back in the Enchanted Forest. I think toothpaste is a product created by dentists to cause tooth decay." I hear him laugh at my comment. "Not that I do not feed into it. I brush my teeth at least once every day in this realm." He puts down his pen and makes

"If you didn't, I would be a bit worried." He says looking up at me. "Why would Regina's actions affect you so much, dearie?" I look down at my hands in the counter again.

"I do not know." I think about it before continuing. "Maybe it is because I took her actions as a comment on my own mothering." His facial expression scrunches up in anger.

"That's nonsense. You're a great mother." He says.

"How can you say that after everything we have been through?" I tear up a little as I think about the children I have tried to take care of in the past. "Bae is lost somewhere, Belle is dead, and I know I have not seen Pinocchio in this town." I feel a tear leave my eye, and I immediately bring my right hand up to wipe it away.

"Bae and Belle were both my fault, so don't you dare blame yourself for them." His voice is cracking. As I lift my head to look at him, I see his eyes become glassy. "You were a better mother to Bae than his actual mother ever was. Belle loved you dearly, and only wished for you to be happy. I overreacted and pushed her out of both of our lives." I set my left hand on his, to try and comfort him. "Once we find Bae, I'm sure he will prove your words wrong." His words make me smile. Both of my hands are now caressing his face and wiping away the tears threatening to fall.

"I hope you are right, my love." As I pull my hands away he catches them in his own, and brings them up to kiss. Once he lets go of my hands I head to the front door to flip the sign back to 'Open'. The rest of the day I help clean up the counters and items on the shelves. By the time I finish, the wood, glass, and metallic objects look similar to mirrors.

"You've done a lovely job, my dear." Rumple comments from behind me. I turn around and smile at him. "You've finished just in time, too." My head tilts to the right, in question. He gestures to the front windows, and my eyes gaze out the clear glass. "It's time to head home." The sun is setting, and the buildings on the opposite side of the street are covered in bright oranges and pinks.

"I guess it is." I put away the cleaning products and meet Rumple at the front door. "Shall me?" I ask as he opens the door for me. Both of us get into his car and he drives us home. As we enter our home, Rumple heads straight to the kitchen. "Where are you going?" I ask him.

"I am going to make us dinner." I smile at his words again. "Now, why don't you make yourself comfortable in the sitting room." He suggests. I do as he says. As I am getting comfortable in one of the armchairs, my cellphone rings. The caller ID says that it is Mary Margaret. I answer immediately. "Hello?"

"Hey, um, I just wanted to tell you that we found David." She says.

"That is great." I reply, but I realize that she did not seem so excited. "What is wrong, M&M? You do not seem happy about finding the poor man."

"What if he did something to Katherine?" She says, worry very present in her voice. "Because of me. Because of us."

"I would not worry about it. I do not think that David would do anything to physically hurt anyone." I tell her.

"Maybe." She stays silent for a minute. "So, enough about me. How is everything going with Mr. Gold?" She asks me.

"Pretty good. He is cooking dinner for us, right now. I feel so spoiled." I giggle.

"I'm so happy for you, Ava." She sounded genuine, but I can still sense the worry for David in her voice.

"Thank you, and again, do not worry about David. I am sure everything will be fine." We talk for about an hour until Rumple said that dinner was ready. "Well, I am being summoned for supper. I will talk to you sometime tomorrow."

"Alright, I'll look forward to hearing from you." She says. "Have a nice night."

"Thank you. You too. Get some rest." I say as I stand from the chair.

"I'll try." She hangs up, so I do the same. As I start to walk to the dining area I start to smell something delicious. "Something with a tomato sauce." I hear him laugh in the dining area.

"Correct, my dear."

"And garlic bread?" I finally reach the room and see him standing behind one of the chairs at the small round dining table. A bowl of noodles with tomato sauce sits next to a plate with slices of garlic bread, in the middle of the table. I walk over to the chair he is standing behind. As I sit in the chair he pushes it towards the table. His chivalry towards me has not changed. Before he limps over to the chair across the table from me, he serves a generous amount of spaghetti on my plate. I smile at him as he heads over to sit in his own chair. "It is nice having you cook for me for a change." I giggle as I pick up the fork and spoon lying next to my plate. I spin some of the noodles on the fork and use the spoon to make sure it is all neatly on the fork before taking a bite.

"How is it?" He asks. I finish my bite before answering.

"It is delicious. Have you been practicing?" I ask.

"Guilty." He answers. Next I grab a slice of garlic bread and apprehensively take a bite. It tastes mediocre. The garlic butter saves the flavor of the bread.

"The actual bread you can leave to me next time." I suggest as I go back for some more spaghetti.

"I figured you would say that." He smiled at me. "I'll try to warn you next time I plan something like this again." We eat the rest of our meal in comfortable silence. It feels just like it used to in the Dark Castle. Once we finished eating we gathered the dishes and washed them together. Then, we put a kettle of hot water on. After it came to a boil we made some tea and sat in the sitting room. We reminisced about things that happened in the Enchanted Forest, and we talked about what we hoped to happen in the future. I look at the clock for the first time in hours and I realize that it is around ten o'clock at night.

"I think it is time to go to bed, my love." I say as I stand from my chair and reach for his empty teacup. He hands me the cup, and I bring them to the kitchen to wash them. After I am done, I meet Rumple upstairs. He is already in bed as I begin to get ready for sleep. As I crawl into bed I snuggle up to the love of my life.

"Good night, my little song bird." He says as I start to fade.

"Good night, Rumple." I reply, and mere seconds later I am thrown into dream land.

A/N: So, what do you guys think is in the box? I already know, I just want to see if someone can guess it correctly. I hope you guys liked this chapter. I love Rumple and Ava's relationship and I wanted to show a bit more of it in this chapter. Thank you to all of the people who read and review this story. You guys are the best, and I can't wait to see what you think of the path this story is going down.


	25. Heart of Darkness

A/N: I am on a roll. Woooo! Here is another chapter. I hope you guys like it.

I wake up to an alarm, which I remembered to set yesterday. I shut it off quickly. Rumple does not need to wake up right now. He stirs a bit, but I stroke his hair and kiss him on the forehead until he is at rest again. I get ready, and leave within an hour. I run out of the house, and to my bakery, as I put my hair up in a high ponytail. As I pass by the diner I see Ruby walk in. She must have decided to go back to work with Granny. That did not last long.

I get to the bakery and unlock the door. I rush in and turn on the ovens right away. It takes a few minutes to get my coat off, my apron on, and started on the doughs and batters. After the order for Granny's is finished, I box it all up and bring it to the diner.

"Well, look at you." Granny says as I set the boxes on the counter. I look at her around the boxes and smile at her. "Back on your usual schedule, I see." I watch as she counts out the cash to pay me.

"Yeah, it took me a bit, but I am back in the swing of things." She hands me the payment for the order and I see Ruby walk out in her waitress uniform. I smile and wave to both of them as I leave. "Have a great day you two." I go back to the bakery to get baking. About an hour later I get a call from Mary Margaret. I answer quickly. "Hey, M&M what is up?"

"Hey, Ava, um, I don't really know how to say this, but here goes." This cannot be good. "I'm being arrested."

"What?! Why?!" I turn my ovens off and throw my apron on the counter.

"They found a box in the woods that had my fingerprints on it." She says. She sounds like she is going to cry, but I am very confused.

"So what? It is just a box." I say as I put my coat on.

"You don't understand, Ava, there was something inside the box." She sounds like she is breaking down over the phone.

"Okay, I am heading over to the Sherriff's station now. You and Emma can explain it to me better when I get there." I hang up the phone and lock up before running to the station. As I turn a corner I see Rumple's car park in front of the Pawn Shop. I am going to get a phone call from him soon, I know it, but I cannot focus on that right now. I take out my phone and send him a quick telling him where I am going and that I will talk to him about it later. I arrive at the station as Emma is taking Mary Margaret's mug shot.

"Please turn to the right." Emma says from behind the camera. Mary Margaret follows orders as she tries to defend herself.

"Emma, this is a mistake. I didn't kill Katherine."

"What?!" I say from the door. They both look at me.

"We found a box with a human heart inside, and Mary Margaret's fingerprints are all over it." Emma says, catching me up.

"There is no way she did that." I say.

"Of course she didn't." Emma says, taking the pictures out of the old camera. "But, while I am her friend, I am also the sheriff. I have to go where the evidence leads."

"Which points to me?" M&M says walking over to Emma. My head is spinning with this information, so I sit down and try to think of some way to help Mary Margaret. "Emma, yesterday it was David. There's something not right here."

"I know." Emma says as she places the pictures in a folder for book keeping. "But, your fingerprints are on that box, and his are not. So, now we have to deal with," she holds up her mug shots. "this."

"Evidence that says that she cut out a woman's heart, put it in a box and buried it in the woods?" I ask. This just does not make any sense. "That is insane."

"If I don't book her, with all this evidence, it's gonna look like favoritism." She says to me. "And then Regina will have cause, and she will fire me. And then you know what she'll do? She'll bring in someone who will railroad her." Emma turns from me to Mary Margaret. "So, please, just try to be patient and trust me. We can't even move forward 'til we verify the heart belonged to Katherine, and I'm still waiting for the DNA test results." Mary Margaret looks over at me as Emma continues. "But, in the meantime, you need to bear with me. I have to ask you a few questions."

"This is crazy." M&M says as she walks towards one of the interrogation rooms. "I would never hurt anyone." Emma follows her after grabbing her leather jacket and putting it back on. I immediately call Rumple. He picks up after two rings.

"Ava, what's wrong?" He says.

"Mary Margaret is being blamed for Katherine's disappearance." I say.

"That's absurd." He chuckles.

"I know right?" I glance down the hall and see Regina walk out of the room with Emma. "Oh my God." I whisper into the phone as I swivel the chair around to face away from the two women, whispering to each other. "Regina is here."

"What?"

"Regina was in the interrogation room. Her and Emma just came out and started whispering to each other."

"What is she doing here?" That woman's voice says from down the hallway.

"I am going to hang up. I will meet up with you soon." I say before hanging up the phone. I swivel back around to face the mayor.

"She just came to visit me." Emma says as she looks at me. I know she wants me to play along. If I was here to visit Mary Margaret, it could look bad.

"Yeah, I had some free time, so I came to see what the sheriff was up to." I stand up as they make their way closer to me. "I was just about to leave. I would rather be doing nothing in my bakery, than nothing here." I wave to Emma and glare at Regina. I slowly make my way back to the bakery. A few hours pass by and I become extremely bored. I watch as the second hand ticks away on the wall clock.

"Hey, Hellooooo." I suddenly notice a hand is being waved in front of my face. "Anybody there?" I focus on the man in front of me. His scruff is the first thing I focused on. I bolt to attention, and look at August.

"Sorry, I was zoning out a bit." I say. He smiles and laughs and my defense.

"It's alright." He looks at the desserts in the display. "Can I get a couple sugar cookies?" He gestures to the flavor behind the glass.

"Sure." I bag up a couple of sugar cookies and set the bag on the counter. As he finishes paying, the bell over my door rings. Both August and I look at the figure entering. "Hello, Mr. Gold." I greet him. August looks to me, and he smiles mischievously. What does he think is going on here?

"Keep the change." August says as he begins to walk past Mr. Gold and out the door. The room is silent. I think I know who this man is, but how can it be? He is so grown up.

"I feel like I know who August is, I just cannot put my finger on who." I say, more to myself.

"Don't worry about him now." Rumple states as he makes his way to the counter. "This morning you said that Mary Margaret is being blamed for Katherine's disappearance?" He asks me. Before answering him I walk to the bakery door and flip the 'Open' sign to 'Closed'.

"Yes." I turn to him. "I think someone is setting her up." I walk up to him slowly as I continue. "Her fingerprints are on a box, and inside that box was a heart. The heart was sent away for DNA testing, but it does not look good." I stop in front of him as he looks to the ground, concentrating on my words. "Mary Margaret would never do anything like that." He does not say anything, but I can tell just by looking at his face that he is pondering something. Suddenly, he looks at me.

"Grab your coat, dearie. I have an idea." He heads towards the door as I turn off the ovens and grab my coat. We walk to his car and drive to the sheriff's office. He still has not told me anything as he parks the car. Both of us get out and head inside.

"I'm saying you should think about hiring a lawyer." I hear Emma say as we walk into the main room.

"An excellent idea." Rumple says. Emma and Mary Margaret look towards both of us.

"Mr. Gold, Ava." M&M greets us quietly.

"What are you doing here?" Emma asks. I look to my love, hoping he has a good reason for coming here. Mary Margaret is my friend, and I do not want him to make things worse.

"Offering my legal services." He answers. I did not know that he had any legal experience. But the more I think about it, he did make deals and contracts with many people in the Enchanted Forest.

"You're a lawyer?" Emma asks. Rumple begins to limp his way towards the women on the opposite side of the room, and I follow him.

"Ever wonder why I'm so adept at contracts?" That is exactly where my thoughts had gone. "I've been following the details of your case, Miss Blanchard. And I think you'd be well advised to bring me on as your council." He stops at the corner of one of the desks. I move around him and walk up to my friend behind the bars of the cell.

"And why is that?" Mary Margaret asks.

"Well, the sheriff had me arrested for nearly beating a man to death." I smile to myself at his admission of harming Belle's father. I know the man did not know why he had been beaten, but it still made me happy. "And I managed to persuade the judge to drop the charges."

"Asserting your influences isn't what's needed here." Emma pipes up. "We need to find the truth."

"Exerting influence may be exactly what is needed here, Emma." I say. The woman looks over to me as she reacts.

"What's needed here is for me to do my job." She says.

"Well, no one's stopping you, I'm only here to help." Rumple says drawing her attention away from me.

"Enough." M&M says, stopping the quickly escalating argument. All eyes turn to her. "Please go." Who does she want to leave? All three of us?

"You heard her." Emma says to Mr. Gold. She gestures to the door with her head.

"No, I was talking to you." Mary Margaret clarifies. Emma turns to her in surprise. "Oh, Emma, he's right. I need help. And you need to do your job or else I'm screwed. So just, please, do your job the best you can." M&M looks so defeated. I feel as if she is about to cry at any moment. "And you'll prove me innocent. Until you do, I need some practical help."

"Trust me." Mr. Gold says as he comes closer to the jail cell. "This is Miss Blanchard's best interests." Emma thinks about everyone's words.

"Good luck, Mary Margaret." Emma says through the bars. "I hope your best interests are what he's looking out for." She directs that sentence towards Mr. Gold as she walks by him. I turn to M&M and whisper to her.

"I will make sure he does. You are my best friend, after all." She smiles and nods at my words. Then she turns to Mr. Gold.

"I can't pay you."

"I didn't ask for money." He states.

"Then why are you doing this?" She asks. She is skeptical, as she should be.

"Let's just say, I'm invested in your future." He answers. The rest of the day Mr. Gold and Mary Margaret talk about legal things. Around lunchtime I was sent out to grab everyone something to eat. I also get some of the leftover cookies in my bakery to bring back with me. The treat ends up cheering M&M up a bit, but soon Mr. Gold and I had to leave.

"I will visit tomorrow, Mary Margaret." I assure her. She will not go through this alone. Emma has to be unbiased, and I do not know what is going on with David. I feel like it is on me to make her feel like someone is on her side. That someone believes her, and I do believe her. There is no way she could do what she is being accused of. It is late when we arrive at our home, so we go straight to bed.

 _My dreams are filled with memories. Not happy memories, but sad and upsetting ones. I dream of closing myself off, from Rumple, after hearing of Belle's demise. He tries to help me through the heartache by offering me an elixir that would help me forget about my daughter all together. I refuse it. I do not wish to forget any of the time I shared with my daughter. The elixir was instead given to Snow White in exchange for a hair from her head. Rumple had told me that. And the next time that I saw Snow with my own eyes, I knew that she had been desperate enough to consume the potion._

I wake with a start. I am not sure why. I look around the room to find that Rumple is not in bed. My head swivels over to the alarm clock. As I do, the annoying sound starts to ring in my ears. I shut off the alarm and get ready for the day. I shall ask Rumple about him waking early later today. I have to continue my schedule. The day is very slow, after the delivery to Granny's. At the end of my workday, I pack up the leftover sweets and head over to the sheriff's station. I need to talk with Mary Margaret. I know that she would do the same for me.

I walk into the office area, and as I look to the cell my eyes go wide. What is happening? I hear something hit the floor. I look down to see that I dropped the bag of sweets that I had brought with me. I look back to the surprisingly empty cell. Where did M&M go? How did she get out? Where did she go? Should I call Rumple? Emma? Certainly not Emma. Should I go out and try to find Mary Margaret, or leave now and pretend to know nothing of what I am seeing in front of my eyes? Yes, that is what I should do. I pick up the bag of sweets from the floor. As I turn to leave, I see Henry standing in the doorway. He looks into the room and notices the same thing that I did.

"Where's Miss Blanchard?" The boy asks. What should I do?

A/N: What do you guys think? I will tell you that the next chapter will be a flashback to the Enchanted Forest, so be prepared for that. I am so into this show, guys. And I have noticed something. Gradually Robert Carlyle, who plays Rumple/Mr. Gold, has gained weight. I am not saying it is a bad thing. I still like Rumple, and he has a mysteriousness that is attractive to me and I'm sure all of you. I am just saying that I've noticed this as I go back and forth from watching the fifth season to watching the first season for my writing of this story. It is just so jarring sometimes. I didn't notice it as the seasons went on, but when you skip from season five back to season one, you notice things like this. Alright guys. Thank you for reading. Stay tuned for my next chapter. :)


	26. Dealing With Grief

A/N: I am seriously on a roll. Here is a chapter focusing on a past event in the Enchanted Forest/Dark Castle. I hope you enjoy.

The light from the window shines through my eyelids. What is the use of opening my eyes when a piece of me has been taken away. I will never get it back. It is easier for me to continue lying in bed. Is it fair for my true love? No, I know that much. It is not like our relationship can get any worse. I cannot kiss him with all of my passion for him. I cannot sleep in the same room or bed for fear that it will be too tempting. I shall just lie here until I waste away. I am not hungry. I am not thirsty. I just do not want to do anything.

"Oh Ava, my sweet." My true love says in a whispering sing-song voice. "It's time to wake up. It's a beautiful day." I do not move, open my eyes, or answer him. "Come now, my love. You can't keep yourself in this bed all day. Come spend the day with me." I roll my eyes under my lids.

"It will change nothing." I whisper.

"Don't talk like that, dearie." He says. I feel him place a hand on my cheek, gently caressing it with his thumb. "How about I make you something to eat."

"I am not hungry." I state. His hand leaves my face, and I crave the contact even more.

"I don't care." I can tell he is getting irritated with my behavior. He does not understand, not completely. "You have not eaten an two days. I am making you something to eat, and I am going to watch you eat it. I will not stand by and watch you waste away." I hear a 'poof' sound and realize that he has just transported to the kitchen to prepare me something to eat.

Somehow, I fall back to sleep. I dream of my beautiful daughter calling out for me. I can hear her, but I cannot find her. I search through scenery of nothing but blackness. I call out to her, but my voice seems to have escaped me. Soon, I am pulled out of this nightmare, as I am shaken awake.

"My little song bird." Why does he use that soft sing-song voice? "I've brought you something to eat." I feel him sit on the edge of the bed.

"I am n-"

"As I said before, I don't care." He interrupts me. Slowly I open my eyes to the brightly lit room. I turn my head to the bedside table. A tray sits there with plates of food and a cup of water. There is also a small vial filled with a smoky white colored liquid.

"What is that?" I ask him. He pauses for a moment before understanding what I was talking about. He grabs the small vial, and I follow it as he brings it in front of him.

"Oh, this?" I just glare at him. "It's a potion to help with your dilemma, my dear." I quirk my head to the side as I begin to sit up.

"What do you mean?"

"Once you drink this you will feel much better." He is leaving out something.

"How will this little bit of liquid help me feel better, and you better not lie to me." I say. He sighs.

"Once I place a hair from your head into the vial, and you drink it, you will forget about your broken heart." He says.

"The only way to do that is for me to forget…" I start to realize what this potion will actually do. "No! I will not be rid of my memories of my own daughter!" I yell at him.

"Well, what would you have me do?" His eyes show concern as he starts to pace around the room in frustration. "I'm doing everything I can think of to help you, but you are not letting me."

"It takes time to grieve, my love. And everyone grieves in different ways." He stops pacing and just looks at me.

"It's been weeks. How long do you expect me to wait?"

"Can you not be self absorbed for one second?" I ask him in a soft voice. "What is it you are waiting on me for? Are _you_ waiting on _me_ to find my son so we can finally move on with our lives?" He tenses up at my words. "No. Because _I_ am waiting for _you_ to find Bae, not the other way around." He heaves a big sigh before coming back over to me.

"Okay, I will allow you to grieve for as long as you need, but I need you to eat." He whispers pleading with me. I look over to the tray of food on the bedside table once more. I grab, what looks to be, a roll. I bring it to my mouth and take a bite. I look back to Rumple, and he now has a smile on his face. He leans forward and kisses my forehead. "Thank you." He says before leaving the room. I end up eating everything on the tray and drinking all of the water.

After the day Rumple was able to get me to start eating again, he told me about how Snow White came to him for a cure for her broken heart. He offered the girl the potion that he had offered me, and she took it. When he informed me that all he took from her as payment was a lock of hair, I was confused. What is he planning? It is a very cheap price to pay for what she received.

About a week later, I am feeling better. I am still grieving my daughter, but I am moving on with my life. I am cleaning up around the castle, once again. As I start cleaning the potion room, Rumple comes in with two people. The shorter man is clearly a dwarf, and the woman is… Is that Snow White? I pause in my cleaning to stare at the woman. No. She took the potion. My heart sinks a little as I go back to cleaning the tables and shelves. Rumple goes to his spinning wheel in silence. For about a minute all that could be heard was the soft squeaking of the spinning wheel, and the shuffling of feet on the floor. The dwarf breaks the silence.

"The potion you gave Snow," Irritation seeped into the words. "It changed her. She's not the same."

"Well of course it changed her." Rumple bites back. "It took away her love. Left a big hole in her heart. There is no cure for what she's got." Rumple must have been truly desperate to even offer that potion to me, if that is truly what would have happened to me. I would not want to change as much as Snow White has. I keep my head down as I move around the room. My hair falls in a curtain to block my face. I do not want to be seen as anything more than a housekeeper to Rumple in front of visitors. "The person she was," Rumple says as he steps away from the spinning wheel and towards the dwarf. They are both looking over to Snow as she looks at the bottles and vials on one of the tables. "There's no way to bring her back." The men walk over to the cabinet of bottled magics, and Rumple opens the doors. "No potion can bring back true love. Love, is the most powerful magic of all, the only magic I haven't been able to bottle. If you can bottle love, you can do anything." I pause once again as I listen to Rumple talk. I am trying to figure out what the end game is. "But, you don't care about that, do ya?" He says looking to the drastically different Snow White. "Now, what is it you really want?"

"I want your help," The woman says. "To kill the queen." Rumple's eyes light up at her words.

"Now we're talkin', dearie." He says as he takes a golden rope and bringing it over to the unbraced bow and golden arrow, displayed in the center of the room.

"Snow, don't." The dwarf objects. Snow watches Rumple string the bow with the golden rope.

"Now what is this?" The girl asks. I move to behind the two visitors and start cleaning a window.

"This," He says as he finishes stringing the bow. "Is how you kill the queen."

"How will that get me into the castle?" Snow says, confused.

"No, no, no, that is impossible." Rumple corrects the girl. "You have to kill her when she's on the move. When she's on her way to the summer palace." He makes a map appear in his hand, and he shows it to her. I go over to the bottled magic cabinet and dust it a bit before closing the doors that Rumple had forgotten to close. "Fire the arrow from this spot here, and you'll be hidden from sight." I look at the empty spot in the cabinet, labeled with a picture of a heart. He is trying to bottle love. Why? "An arrow fired from this bow will get you exactly what you need. It always finds its target." I hear the dwarf and Snow whisper to each other before the woman takes the weapon. I hear Rumple giggle, and the sound makes me smile.

"So, what do I have to do in return?" Snow asks.

"Do? You don't have to do anything, dearie." He replies.

"Everything comes with a price with you." That is a very true statement. "Last time you took a strand of my hair. What's in it for you this time?"

"Let's just say, I'm invested in your future." With that answer from Rumple, Snow and the dwarf leave. After they exit the room I turn to my true love.

"Why are you so invested in the future of Snow White?" I ask as I turn to him.

"Why would I spoil the surprise, my dear?" He giggled once again. It makes me smile as I move past him to the door. "Where are you going?"

"I am going to the front entrance room." He seems to be a bit confused. "The stairs need to be swept and the items in there must be dusted."

"I shall accompany you, then." He insists with a smile. He follows me to the front entrance room. There are not many objects, but the flowers in the display need to be exchanged for fresh ones, anything metal needs to be shined, the floors need to be cleaned. There are a lot of chores in this room. About half an hour into my duties the front door bursts open. As I face away from the door, the rush of cold air startles me.

"Rumplestiltskin!" The man yells as he walks past me. "Show yourself." I feel my cloak being draped over my shoulders. Quickly I turn into my parrot form. I fly to rest on Rumple's shoulder.

"Still dressing like a prince, I see." The man turns around to look at us. "Even though you ran away from the life I gave you." Rumple starts to walk around the table in the center of the room. "How's that for gratitude?"

"You gave me a prison sentence." The man says, as he looks around, confused. I guess today is just a day of confusion. "Where did that maid go?" He asks.

"Don't worry about the maid." I nuzzle into the high collar of his vest a bit, and I feel him smile more. "You've now skirted that prison sentence you speak of. Careful, dearie, King George is a vengeful man." He says pointing to the farm boy turned prince.

"I'm here about Snow." The man says. "Rumor has it, she's after the queen, and she came to you for help."

"Yes indeed." Rumple says as he leans on the table, now between the prince and my true love. I watch as the prince pulls out his sword and points it at Rumple. I start squawking and flapping my wings as I stay on his shoulder. Rumple giggles as he tries to calm me down. He stroked my head gently, and I become content again. "Now look, you've upset my dear parrot."

"What did you do to her?" The prince sounds angry.

"What did I do to her?" My love replies as he walks around the table the opposite way from before. "You mean what did _you_ do to her." Rumple points to the man. "You caused her pain. Without that pain, she would never have drank my potion to forget about you." He gestured to himself and then back to the would-be prince. "That's what changed her." Rumple leans on the end of the sword, daring the man.

"Undo the potion." The man orders Rumple. Ha, like you can order the Dark One to do anything. "All magic can be broken."

"Oh yes, with twue wove." Rumple answers. Is he making fun of the power of true love? I pull at a piece of his hair with my beak, but he continues to focus on the man in front of us.

"So that's it, then. True love's kiss will awaken her."

"Most certainly." Rumple says. "But, it's gonna be hard to kiss her when you don't know where she is." With that last word Rumple shoves the blade away from his chest with his right hand. He laughs at Prince Charming and continues to walk around the man and towards the entrance to the main hall. I hear the prince sheath his sword.

"Name your price." The desperate prince says. Rumple perks up at the words.

"How about," He turns back around to face the man. "You're cloak." Rumple finishes, pointing to the prince.

"My cloak?" I share the man's confusion. He has been taking cheap prices for his services lately. "Why would you want my cloak?" Rumple scrunches up his face.

"It's drafty in here." Rumple says before he giggles. There is a pause before the man takes his cloak off and sets it on the table.

"Where is she?"

"On her way to the queen's highway." Rumple says with a smile. As he takes a step towards Charming he makes a duplicate map appear. "This is the route she's taking, but you better be quick." He says as the man grabs the map. "Because if she kills the queen," He steps even closer to the prince as the man reads the map. "She becomes as evil as the woman whose life she takes."

"She could never become that evil." The man clearly loves Snow. I hope he is able to save the poor woman from that horrible fate. He leaves the castle in search of his true love.

"Evil isn't born, dearie." Rumple calls to the man. "It's made. If Snow starts down that road you'll never get her back." As the prince runs out of sight I turn back into my human form. I run to the doors and close them.

"I would ask if he was born in a barn, but I already know the answer to that." I say. I turn back to see Rumple pick up the cloak from the table. I just stand by the door with my hands on my hips. He looks up at me and smiles.

"What are you doing just standing there, dearie? Follow me." He gestures for me to do just that as he turns to walk away from me. I end up following him back to the potion room. Rumple sets the cloak on a table and pulls out a magnifying glass. He uses a pair of tweezers to carefully remove a single hair from the fabric of the cloak. He places the hair in a vial that already contains a hair.

"Rumple, what is-"

"Just watch, my love." He interrupts. I watch, as the hairs seem to illuminate yellow and pink. The two strands wind around each other as they levitate together in the vial. My mouth drops open in shock. Rumple giggles before lifting the vial from the table. His actions snap me out of my trance. I follow his movements with my eyes as he walks over to the bottled magics cabinet. He places the vial in the only open space. He has truly done it. I do not know how he did, but he truly did it. He has just bottled love. A smile makes its way across my face. Rumple giggles once again as he steps away, admiring his work.

"What will you use it for?" I say, not realizing that I had walked up behind Rumple. The beautiful display of the glowing hairs was mesmerizing.

"You'll see, my little birdie." He replies, turning to me. "But now, it's time for bed." He gently grabs my hand, poofing us outside the door to my bedchambers. "Until the morrow's light, my dear." He bends down and kisses the back of my hand, which he was still holding. I smile at him as he stands up straight once again. He walks down the hallway, towards his own bedchambers. I head in to sleep the night away. The excitement of bottling love can only mean good things for us. At least I think so.

A/N: I hope you guys liked this chapter. No promises on how long until the next chapter. It could be tomorrow, and it could be a week from now. Only time will tell.


	27. Hat Trick

A/N: Alright guys. Here's another one. i hope you enjoy it.

I sit in one of the chairs outside the sheriff's office and stare straight ahead. Henry sits in the chair to my right as he looks through the 'Once Upon A Time' book. He tries to talk to me about Operation Cobra being back on, but I am in my own world. I keep asking the same questions in my head, about Mary Margaret. As I ask myself the same question for about the twentieth time, the front door to the station is swung open. Two figures make their way towards Henry and I. I hear the sound of a cane hit the floor in even intervals.

"Henry, Ava," Emma says as she sees the two of us. "What are you doing here?" I hear the boy close the book before he replies to his birth mother.

"I came to congratulate you." He says with a smile.

"For what?" She asks him.

"Ava? Are you alright, my dear?" Mr. Gold asks as he walks around Emma and stands in front of me.

"I am not sure." I answer him as Henry replies to the question Emma asked.

"Your genius plan."

"And what plan's that Henry?" Mr. Gold asks the very happy boy. He remains quiet as he realizes that there is no plan being put in motion. He looks down at the book in his lap. Rumple gets tired of waiting for Henry to answer him and heads in to see the woman that I know is not in her cell. Soon, he will realize that.

"Sorry," Henry says to Emma as Mr. Gold limps out of earshot. "I thought Mr. Gold was in on it. No that he's Miss Blanchard's lawyer."

"In on what?" Emma sounds confused.

"There is nothing to be 'in on', Henry." I say, still staring at the wall in front of me.

"That doesn't make sense. Someone has to be in on the escape plan." The boy insists.

"What?" Emma asks her son.

"Sheriff, would you join me, please?" I hear Mr. Gold call from inside the office. I snap out of my trance, and I follow the sheriff and her son. I am not happy. We had her back. Why would she panic, and run? "She's gone." Mr. Gold says, not turning to us as we enter.

"Henry, what'd you do?" Emma rushes past Rumple. "Or was it you, Ava?" I snap my head up to look at her.

"You cannot think that I did this." I try to defend myself. "I came to share some cookies with her. She was gone when I arrived, and Henry stopped in soon after I did." I set the bag of cookies on one of the desk to prove my story.

"Her arraignment's tomorrow." Gold states. "If she's not there,"

"She's a fugitive." Emma finishes Rumple's sentence. "It doesn't matter if she's convicted for Katherine or not, she's screwed." The sheriff turns and speed walks past Henry, Gold, and I, heading to her desk. "I have to go find her before someone notices she's missing."

"Oh, you mean Regina." I point out. The three of us turn to the woman scrambling around.

"The arraignment's at eight AM. I'm sure she'll be here bright and early to celebrate her victory." The woman takes her firearm out of her desk drawer.

"Well, you have until eight AM, then." Mr. Gold states.

"What about me?" Henry asks. "How can I help?" Ah, youth. To think you can help in every situation, even in a serious adult predicament such as this, is so naïve for a young boy like him.

"Go home." Emma answers. It is not the answer the boy wants, but that is all he can do right now.

"Emma," The boy says, walking closer to the woman. "If she leaves Storybrooke,"

"Not now, Henry." The sheriff interrupts and escorts the boy out of the office.

"Miss Swan, I know time is of the essence, but if Miss Blanchard Doesn't return," Rumple pipes up. "Her future's in jeopardy. And if you're caught helping her, so is yours."

"I don't care. I'd rather lose my job than my friend." Emma says simply.

"Speaking of," I say. "May I join you Emma?" The woman just looks at me. "I have known her longer than you have. I may have some ideas of where she has run off to." Her face softens and nods before following Henry out of the station. I turn to Rumple.

"I suppose you won't want me to wait up for you, dearie." I smile at his words.

"You know me so well." I lean forward and press a light kiss to his cheek before grabbing the bag of cookies and running to catch up with Emma. I get outside and find the yellow bug. As I run to the passenger side Emma starts the car. I set the cookies by my feet as I buckle up. Emma pulls the car out of the Sheriff's designated spot, and she drives down the road to find Mary Margaret.

"So, where do you think she would go?" Emma asks.

"As close to the town line as she can get." I reply. "If I were in her place, and I decided to run, that is what I would do." We drive in silence for a while. I get hungry, so I take my bag of cookies and begin to nibble on one. "You want a sugary snack to keep you alert?" I ask. She looks and me with a slightly scrunched up face.

"No! I am trying to find Mary Margaret. I can't waste time and attention on eating right now, and neither should you." She kept looking between the road and me. I watch as we start to turn a bend and see the silhouette of a man walking on the side of the road.

"Look out!" I say, pointing to the figure ahead of us. Emma suddenly sees the man and tries to avoid him. We slightly clip the man as he is knocked down to the ground. Emma stops the car and both of us get out to see if the man is okay.

"I'm so sorry." Emma apologizes to the man as he slowly gets to his feet. "Are you okay?" I trail behind her and help her aid the man. "I didn't see you."

"I think so." I hear the man reply. I know this man. He stands up and limps slightly.

"Are you sure?" Emma shows genuine concern to the man.

"I'm fine." He sighs and makes eye contact with Emma before looking to me. His face falls. Does he remember me from the Enchanted Forest? No, he shouldn't have any memory of that realm. "I'm not used to sharing the road with cars so late." He says to Emma, as he looks me up and down. My brows knit together as he turns to look Emma over. "You're the sheriff, aren't you?"

"Yeah." She answers.

"What brings you out here in the middle of the night?" He asks.

"We are looking for a lost dog." I say quickly. Emma looks over at me and I gesture towards the car with my head. We need to leave. If he recognizes me, the situation we are in could get much worse.

"Yeah, nothing to worry about." Emma adds.

"Well, I hope you find it." He says with a smile.

"Thank you." Emma says as the man begins to walk away. As he limps Emma realizes and, because she is who she is, she feels bad. "Oh, you are hurt." She cannot be falling for this. I am getting a really bad vibe.

"No. I just twisted my ankle, I think." Again, I see that same smile on his face. "I live just a mile down the road. I'll make it okay."

"No, let me drive you." Emma insists.

"What are you talking about? We have to find _the dog_ quickly. We do not have time to drive him home." I gesture to the man. Emma glares at me. "He says he can get home okay. You can take him at his word. We need to go." She looks back to the man.

"I insist." Emma says. I groan as I rub my face in frustration.

"Thank you." The man says. The three of us walk back to the bug. There is something in the pit of my stomach saying this is the worst idea. "I'm Jefferson." He says extending a hand towards Emma. She shakes his hand in return.

"Emma, and I'm sure you already know Ava. She's the baker in town." I do not say a word as I get in the backseat of the bug. I need to make sure that he does not try anything shady.

"I don't really get out much." He says as he gets in the front passenger seat. Emma gets in the driver's seat and starts the car back up. We drive down the road to Jefferson's house in silence. We pull into the driveway and up to the front door. I gaze at it in awe. The building is massive and gorgeous. Jefferson opens his door and steps out of the car. I get out to take the front passenger seat. Emma steps out too, not turning the car off.

"Wow, this is your house?" Emma asks the man. "It looks more like a hotel. You must have a huge family."

"Nope, it's just me." He answers as he closes the door and begins to make his way to his front door. I open the door that Jefferson just closed when Emma decides to shut the car off.

"Here wait." She says. I sigh heavily as I close the door once again.

"What are you doing Emma? We need to find M&M. We cannot be wasting time here." I say in a stern tone.

"Relax, Ava. We have plenty of time to find her."

"Yeah, that is why we rushed out to find her." Emma just walked around the car and helped Jefferson up the stairs. My bad feeling is getting worse as I reluctantly follow the two. I pull out my phone and start to text Rumple. ' _Emma and I ran into a man named Jefferson. If I do not contact you in an hour something has gone wrong. I am getting a bad feeling about this guy.'_ It takes seconds before I get a response.

 _'Where are you?'_ He asks.

 _'His house way outside of town.'_ I answer. _'Just wait. I may be worried for nothing, my love.'_ Jefferson leads us into a sitting room with a fireplace. He leaves the room to get us something to drink. He comes back with some sort of hot beverage in the teapot on a tray.

"I thought you two might want to warm up for your search." The man says, setting the tray down on the coffee table in front of the couch I am standing next to. "It's cold out there." He pours a cup for each of us. He holds out one towards each of us as I speak.

"Thank you, but we should be getting back to the search." I make no move to grab the cup from him. Emma decides to at least take the cup from the man's hand.

"I know." He says as he puts down the cup he offered me. "That's why I brought this." He picks up a rolled up map of the forest and starts to unroll it. "I'm a bit of an amateur cartographer. Mapping the area is a hobby." I look to Emma and notice that she is taking a sip from the cup. Great. If he drugged that tea, I will be our only hope. He sets the map on top of the piano in the room. Emma walks to his right, and I to his left. "Maybe this'll help you track down your dog."

"Wow." Emma says as she takes in the map.

"What's your dog's name?" He asks us. Emma and I look at each other before I answer.

"Uh. M&M. because she's so sweet and tiny." I throw a fake smile his way.

"Cute." He comments.

"Well," Emma says as Jefferson makes his own cup of tea. "Route six runs the boundary of the forest, so," I hear Emma's concentration break as she sets down her cup. "So if I just follow thatIshould," I watch as she begins to slur her words.

"Emma?" I ask, concerned. "Are you okay?" She does not answer me.

"I'm just feeling a little," She says quietly as she begins to sink to the floor. I catch her before she collapses on the floor. I drag her to the couch before turning to Jefferson.

"What did you do!?" I yell as I get in his face. "What did you put in her drink!?"

"I'll open the windows for some fresh air." He starts to walk away from me, but his limp is gone.

"Where is your limp?" I ask him.

"Oh, that." He says with a slight laugh. I look to Emma on the couch. She is completely passed out. I look back to him as he answers. "I guess you caught me." Then he charges at me. My instincts help me evade his grasp. I run around him and out the door. I try to find the front door, but every turn I take seems to get me deeper and deeper into the house. I pause at the end of a hallway that splits in two. I try to catch my breath as I decide which hallway to run down. Before I can choose a hallway a hand covered in a funny smelling cloth covers my nose and mouth. I struggle as the man behind me holds me in place. "Clam down, little birdie. Because of you I have lost precious time. Just go to sleep. When you wake up everything will be fine." My struggle leads me to become weak, and then there is nothing but blackness.

I wake up to a mumbling. As my eyes start to focus I realize the situation that Emma and I got into. My head is leaning forward. As I try to soothe the ache in my neck muscles I realize that my arms and legs are restrained to the chair I am sitting in. I feel a gag tied around my head, preventing me from fully closing my mouth or speaking. I hear the mumbling again. I turn to my right and see the woman we had been looking for this whole time. I try to call out to her through the gag, but even I cannot understand what I was saying. I look around the dark room to figure out how we are going to get out of this. I take a breath, hoping to calm my nerves. Panicking will do no good. Wait, how long has it been since I contacted Rumple? Surely he knows something is wrong by now. Seconds later someone quietly comes into the room. The figure turns around, and I realize that it is Emma. She looks at the two of us in horror and surprise. She goes to Mary Margaret first.

"What is going on?" Emma whispers as she takes the gag out of M&M's mouth. She then comes to me and does the same.

"Emma, thank God." M&M whispered, clearly upset.

"What are you doing here?" Emma asks as she tries to undo the restraints on the poor woman's legs.

"I was in the woods, trying to get away. Then this man appeared, out of nowhere, and grabbed me." I continue to look around the room for something useful to cut the duct tape holing M&M and I into these chairs. "What are you and Ava doing here?"

"Trying to find you." I whisper in reply. "You escaped, remember?" Emma finishes getting the tape off of Mary Margaret's arms and legs and stands up.

"How did you get out?" Emma asks the escapee, as she moves over to me.

"Undo my arms first, then I can get my own legs undone." I whisper to the blonde.

"There was a key," The woman answers. "In my cell, under my pillow. Someone put it there." My hands are free and Emma moves to stand in front of Mary Margaret. I start to unwrap the duct tape on my legs as the conversation continues.

"Who? Emma asks.

"I don't know. I'd like to know, just as much as you." I get one of my legs undone and work on the second. It went quicker than the opposite leg. When it was free I stood up and joined the other two women.

"I texted Mr. Gold when Emma and I got here. I told him if he had not heard from me an hour after, that something happened." They both looked at me and nodded. "But I did not tell him exactly where we were. I have no clue where this house is in relation to the town." Their shoulders slumped at my words.

"Then we need to get out of this on our own." Emma says. She opens the door slowly and peaks into the hallway. She turns to us. "Okay, c'mon." We all quietly exit into the hallway and I close the door as silently as possible. I am the first to turn around and see the man that was holding us captive. He cocks a gun behind his back, and the other two turn to see what I see.

"I see you found M&M." He says, taking the gun from behind his back.

"I've already called for backup, they'll be here any second." Emma says.

"You haven't called anybody." He says with a smile. I close my eyes and hope that Rumple can find us. "For the same reason you didn't tell me about her." He gestures to Mary Margaret. "You don't want anybody to know you're here. Which means nobody does." We just stand there, paralyzed. "Now tie them back up." The three of us go back into the room we had just exited. Jefferson stands at the door as he directs Emma to put the chairs back to back. Mary Margaret and I are tied together at the chest, and our arms and legs are duct taped back in place. She puts my gag back in my mouth before moving to M&M.

"Emma" Mary Margaret whispers before the blonde sheriff puts the gag back in her mouth.

"It's gonna be okay." Emma tries to put us at ease. She stands up, then addresses Jefferson. "Your telescope. You've been watching me. Why?" I hear the man step into the room, closer to the sheriff.

"I need you to do something." Jefferson says as he takes her out of the room. Mary Margaret and I are left in the dark room once again. We cannot even talk to each other. What seemed like hours later, Emma comes bursting into the room.

"Hey, it's alright, I'm gonna get you two outta here. You're gonna be okay." Quickly Emma starts to undo the restraints on Mary Margaret. "He can't hurt you any-"

"Emma, look out!" Mary Margaret screams. I look over my shoulder as Jefferson charges into the room. He tackles Emma into M&M and I, still restrained together. Now we are on our side, unable to move. The legs of the chairs have broken off, though. As Jefferson and Emma struggle for the gun, Mary Margaret somehow gets out of her restraints and gets me free, too. Both of us stand up, seeing Jefferson pointing the gun at Emma. He puts his top hat on, and we notice the scar on his neck.

"Off with his head." He says. I look to the croquet mallet next to me and grab it before hitting him in the side. He back sup towards the window of the room, and Mary Margaret kicks him through the glass. Emma comes to join us as we catch our breaths.

"Are you okay?" M&M asks Emma.

"Yeah." Comes the reply. I go to the window to look at the body that is surely on the ground outside. The other two follow my actions. As I look to the ground I notice that only a hat is lying on the ground below the window.

"What?" I ask. "Where is he?" I am grabbed by the arm, and pulled away from the window.

"Let's go find out." Emma says. We walk around the house, trying to find all of our belongings. Emma finds her jacket, and I find my phone. I take a second to look at the many missed text messages and calls. I immediately call Rumple back. It goes to voicemail. He must have fallen asleep or forgot his phone somewhere. I leave a message saying that we are okay, and that I cannot wait to see him again. The three of us find our way out of the house and gather around the abandoned hat. Mary Margaret picks it up as we all look around for the man it belonged to. "There's no sign of him anywhere." Emma states.

"Who was he?" M&M asks.

"A very lonely man." Emma says, taking the hat from Mary Margaret. "By the way, have you been taking kickboxing and not tolling me about it?"

"I have no idea where that came from." The woman answers. I do, I smile to myself. We walk down the alleyway to our left. Under a tarp is Emma's yellow bug. She opens the driver's side door and finds the keys. Mary Margaret moves to the exit of where the car is and takes a breath, relishing what time she has left of freedom. I walk up to her and give her a big hug. She returns it as Emma walks up to us.

"So," M&M starts as our hug ends. "Sheriff, I guess you'll be taking me back now."

"Here, go." The sheriff says as she tosses the keys to the bug to Mary Margaret.

"You want her to run?" I ask, confused. We spent the night looking for her, and got captured by a crazy man.

"No, but it's her choice." Emma turns toward M&M. "Just know something, running ain't easy. I've done my share of it, and once you go there's no stopping."

"Emma, everyone thinks I killed Katherine."

"Mary Margaret, you have to believe me, you have to trust me." Emma quickly pleads. "I know it seems impossible, but I can get you out of this."

"Why is it so important to you, what happens to me?" M&M asks.

"Because when Regina framed me, and you bailed me out, I asked you why, and you said you trusted me. And then when I wanted to leave Storybrooke, cuz I thought it was best for Henry, you told me I needed to stay because that was best for him." Emma is beginning to break down. "And I realized all my life I have been alone, walls up. Nobody's ever been there for me, except for you. And I can't lose that, I cannot lose my family."

"Family?" Mary Margaret's face lights up with joy.

"Friends." Emma corrects. I know the truth, though. The family connection is strong and clear, even with the curse still in effect. "Whatever. You know what I mean." Emma says as she looks to the ground, trying to pull herself together. "Wouldn't you rather face this together than alone?" Mary Margaret thinks for a second before handing the keys back to the sheriff. They share an emotional moment before we all hear the clock tower sound. We look towards town with worry. "The arraignment." Suddenly my phone starts to ring. I pull it out of my pocket and answer.

"Hey, Mr. Gold." I say.

"Where are you? Are you okay?" His tone is frantic on the other end of the line. Emma, M&M, and I get in the car and speed down the road.

"We are all fine. We are on our way back. I will see you soon, my love." Emma looks back at me as I hang up. "What?" I ask with a smile.

"Nothing. It's just that I never thought someone would be calling Mr. Gold, their love." I roll my eyes at the sheriff's words.

"Just pay attention to the road, blondie." I joke. We arrive at the station in record time. Emma pulls around to the back entrance, and I rush in with Mary Margaret and the bag of cookies from last night. M&M runs into the cell, and I shut and lock it with the key M&M used to escape. I throw the key in my pocket and sit down on the arm of the couch next to the cell. I pass my friend a cookie, and we start acting like we have been talking for hours. We laugh as we hear someone with heeled shoes walk in.

"Madam, mayor." M&M says as I turn to smile at the woman.

"Good morning, Regina." I wave as she answers back.

"Good morning." She looks like she is surprised to see that Mary Margaret is still here. "Why are you here?" She asks me.

"I am here to support my friend." I answer. I look past her to the love of my life, as he enters.

"I dropped her off earlier." He says to the mayor. He walks past her and hands me a bag of food from Granny's. I smile at him before opening the bag. The aroma of breakfast foods makes its way into my nose. I notice that there are duplicates of each item. I give one of the donuts to Mary Margaret and I start chowing down on the other one. They are ones I made yesterday, but they are still delicious. "I just got back from getting her and my client something other than cookies to eat." He says before turning back to Regina. "Speaking of, my client is not having anymore visitors at this time."

"Of course not." She answers simply.

"I'll see you out." He insists. The woman turns around and walks out of the room. Rumple follows her. As soon as they exit, both of us heave a huge sigh of relief. I turn back to my friend and start laughing. We eat the rest of the food that Rumple got for us. Soon he comes back into the office. I put my food down on one of the desks and run to him. He holds his arms open and as I hug him around the chest he closes his arms around me. "Don't you ever do that again." He whispers to me. I feel my eyes begin to tear up, and I bury my head deeper into his chest. "Promise me you won't do that again."

"I promise." I answer as my voice cracks a little. He pulls me away from him enough to rest our foreheads against each other. I look into his eyes. I can tell that mine are glassy, and I can feel more tears threatening to spill over.

"I can't lose you again." He whispers to me. I nod slightly before pecking him on the lips. I step away from him and wipe at my eyes before turning back to Mary Margaret. I spend the rest of the time, before the arraignment, trying to keep Mary Margaret's spirits up. I will talk to Rumple, about what happened last, later.

A/N: I hope you guys liked this chapter. It got a bit emotional at the end. Ava had been holding back her emotions, and then all of a sudden the dam breaks. What do you guys think about the story so far? I look forward to reading your reviews.


	28. The Stable Boy

A/N: Here's another chapter. I hope you like it.

Mary Margaret is driven, in the Sheriff's cruiser, by Emma to the arraignment. Mr. Gold and I follow behind, but before we make it to the courthouse I end up falling asleep in the car. I am not awoken until I am driven home after the arraignment. I feel a familiar hand caress my face as I wake up.

"Ava, my love." He whispers. "It's time for you to get to bed." I groan at his words, barely opening my eyes. "Come now, my dear. I am unable to carry you inside like I used to." I sigh heavily before opening my eyes a bit more. I sluggishly get out of the car and follow my love inside. I pause at the bottom of the stairs and start to think about something that Mary Margaret had said at Jefferson's house, before we came back to town.

"Rumple?" I ask to get his attention.

"What is it, my love?" He turns to me.

"Mary Margaret says that this key," I pull the key from my pocket. "Was in her cell. That someone must have put it under her pillow at some point." He comes closer and takes the key from my hand, examining it. "Do you know anything about it?"

"Of course not." He answers. I squint my eyes at him.

"Do not lie to me." I say. I can spot his lies better than anyone else. After all, I have known him longer than everyone else. He meets my gaze and sighs before placing the key in an inside pocket of his suit jacket.

"Alright, I'll tell you. Let me make some coffee for you first. You look like you're going to collapse where you stand, my dear." He turns to the kitchen and I slowly follow him. I watch as he prepares the coffee maker. Carefully, I hop up onto the counter next to the brewer as it quickly pours a single cup. Rumple hands it to me, setting up the machine for an additional cup of Joe, before speaking. "You remember my assault on Mr. French?" I nod at his words as I hold it close to me. "I went to Regina to convince the DA to drop the battery charges against me."

"Okaay." I stretch out the word, waiting for him to continue.

"I offered to help her with her 'Mary Margaret problem'." He put quotes around those last three words with his fingers. "I suggested that something might happen to David's wife, and that Mary Margaret might take the blame." My mouth falls open as he continues to speak. "And to avoid a trial, I suggested that she plant the key in the cell. Both of us believed that she would just leave town and that would be the end of it." He takes the second cup of coffee from the machine.

"And if Jefferson did not get in the way, that would have worked." I take a few sips of my hot beverage before continuing. "That hatter still has his memories, Rumple. He recognized me right away." He frowned at that.

"Regina must have wanted him to suffer. Seeing his own daughter with another family, it must be devastating." He states. I feel my eye lids start to droop again.

"I assume you gave me decaf." I say as I start to yawn. He chuckles before taking the cup from my hands and setting it on the counter.

"Your assumption is correct, my dear." He gestures for me to come down from the counter. I do as he wishes and slide off the counter. "You need to get some rest." As he escorts me up to bed I ask another question.

"What are you planning to do to help Snow?" He pauses in the doorway of the bedroom to think of an answer to give me.

"I'll figure something out, my dear." He says. I sit on the edge of the bed and take off my boots, jeans, and bra, before huddling under the covers. I watch as Rumple collects my discarded clothing and puts them in a hamper in the corner of the room. He then places my boots by the door. As I begin to fade he comes over to me and places a soft kiss on my forehead. "Sleep well. I'll be back later. If you get up and decide to go out, just give me a call, okay?" I nod in response, and I finally fall into a deep sleep.

I jolt awake, breathing heavy. I cannot even remember what I had dreamt about. If it made me wake up in fright, it was probably not good. Outside the window I see that it is foggy. I grab my phone and see that it is almost two o'clock. I have slept less than five hours. Whatever the dream was it must have been quite a doozie. Doozie? Who says that? I get changed into some clean clothes before resetting the alarm and walking towards the Toll Bridge. The river, which runs under it, will calm me and help me think. But I cannot go anywhere without making sure that Rumple knows where I will be. After the Jefferson incident, I do not want to be caught up somewhere and have no one know where I am.

 _'I am heading to the Toll Bridge.'_ I send to him. About a minute later I get a reply.

 _'Alright, be careful.'_ I like that he did not ask why. Although, he is probably busy with Mary Margaret's case. Walking through the woods is so peaceful. The Enchanted Forest was the same. The only difference is that I cannot fly over the trees here. I cannot wait for magic to return, to feel it buzz and vibrate through my entire being. As I finally arrive at the Toll Bridge I see police tape around a hole in the ground. This must be where they found the box with the heart in it. I walk around the taped off area and crouch at the edge of the river, looking down at the rushing water. I rest my chin on my knees and my arms are wrapped around them.

As the sun comes out I hear the hum of a motor getting closer. I do not look up, hoping that it will just be someone passing by. My thoughts are proven wrong when the engine of the vehicle turns off. I turn around as the sheriff's voice calls to me in surprise.

"Ava? What are you going here?" I face them and watch as August follows her down towards me. He takes a step and his leg locks up.

"Are you alright?" I ask him with concern. I take a few steps towards him, but he waves me off.

"It's nothing." He answers.

"It doesn't seem like nothing." Emma says, showing the same concern as me.

"Let me take a look." I insist as he limps towards me shaking his head.

"It's shin splints." He says. I narrow my eyes at the man.

"No, you are going to sit down on that rock. I am no doctor, but I can at least see if it really is shin splints." August sighs and sits down on the rock as Emma goes to the hole. What is she trying to do here exactly? My attention goes back to the man sitting on the rock. You may ask yourself how I know about injuries, but come on, I am the oldest of over twenty siblings. I had to take care of so many kids that ran around all day. Most of the injuries were dumps, bruises, and scrapes, though. I crouch down in front of August and for some reason he looks nervous. Slowly, I lift up the hem of his pant leg. As I lift it above the man's boot I see something I have never seen in this town before. I quickly pull his pant leg back down and ask a question I already know the answer to. "Are you an amputee?" I whisper. He shakes his head slightly. "Then you have been a bad boy in the years you have been away." I whisper as I look over my shoulder at Emma.

"Wait, you…" he whispers, trailing off.

"Yes, I have my memories, and I have finally figured out who you are." I grab his hand and smack it.

"What was that for?" He harshly whispers as he pulls his hand from me.

"For not doing what you were supposed to. And do not deny it. It is the reason this is happening to you." I say gesturing to his leg. His eyes look towards the ground as I stand up.

"August?" Emma calls to the man. Both of us turn to see what the woman wants. "Look." We walk over and look into the hole where the box had been buried. Emma crouches down and reaches into the hole. She pulls out a triangular piece of broken metal.

"What is it?" August asks as he takes it from her and wipes off some of the dirt. I look at the piece over his shoulder.

"It's a shard." The sheriff states the obvious. "From a shovel." How does she know that? "It must've broken off when it hit a rock." The phone in my pocket sounds so I walk away from Emma and August. I answer it as I bring it to my ear.

"Hey, Mr. Gold." He chuckles on the other end of the line. "What?" I ask as I start to smile.

"Nothing. It's just that your voice made my day a bit better." That cannot be good. My face drops.

"Oh, no. What happened?"

"Let's just say that my plan to help my client backfired." He stated. That must be why Emma is back here. "Do you need a ride home from the bridge?" he asks me.

"Um," I turn back to the sheriff and the stranger that is a stranger no more. "Yeah, sure. I am just here by the river, contemplating my purpose in life." The two people look at me as if I am from another planet. I gesture for them to leave.

"Okay," He chuckles. "I'll be there soon. We can grab some food from Granny's on the way home."

"Yeah, that sounds nice." I smile. "I will see you when you get here." With that we hung up. I watch as Emma makes her way to the motorcycle parked on the side of the road. August hangs back to talk to me.

"So, I don't think I have to tell you to keep who I really am a secret, do I?" He whispers to me.

"I will not tell a soul, not even my true love. Although, it will kill me." I joke with him. He chuckles at my words. "It is nice to know that you are alive." I say seriously.

"You too, Miss Birdie." I smile at his nickname for me. "I hope tomorrow I can stop by the bakery for a cookie." He calls back to me as he climbs up the hill to his motorcycle. Emma standing by with her arms crossed in irritation.

"I will see what I can do." I call up to him. August puts his helmet on and straddles the bike. Emma gets on behind him and they drive away. Soon after, the familiar Cadillac rolls into view as I stand on the side of the road. The car stops with the passenger side in front of me. I open the door and sit before closing the door. I put my seatbelt on and turn to the driver. "So, what can you tell me about Mary Margaret's case, my love?" He just sits there looking to me with a blank face. But a smirk makes it to his face as he turns to drive down the road.

"Not much, I'm afraid." We drive in comfortable silence to Granny's diner. The car is parked and we walk into the diner. Granny greets me immediately.

"Ava, I heard you were up all night." She gives me a slightly suffocating hug as Rumple walks to a booth. Granny lets go and looks at me. "I'll expect double the goods tomorrow." I smile and giggle at her words.

"No doubt, Granny." She smiles and starts to walk away as I make my way over to where Rumple has sat down. "I shall have to get up extra early tomorrow."

"Why is that?" He asks as he looks through a menu.

"I feel bad for not getting the order for Granny done today. I am going to make double tomorrow to make up for it." I answer as I gently take the menu from his hands.

"You don't have to do that."

"Why? Is it because you do not like Granny? Or because you do not want me to leave earlier than I usually do?" I ask with a smile.

"A little of both." He smiles back to me. Soon, Ruby comes over to take our order. We are going to split a chicken strip meal with fries. As we wait, I try to get him to tell me about what happened with Mary Margaret, but he is good at keeping secrets. I may know when he is lying, but I cannot tell what the truth really is until he actually tells me. He just said that it was not good. I know that Rumple was a part of setting up M&M, but I trust that he will do all he can to help her out of the situation.

Our food comes and we eat in silence. I watch the other people in the diner and try to remember who they were in the Enchanted Forest. Most of them I do not know. They were probably just regular towns folk. We finish the meal and leave after Rumple pays. As soon as we get home I get ready for bed. I tuck myself under the covers and fall asleep.

I wake up to my alarm. I shut off the annoying sound and turn to the other side of the bed. It looks like Rumple did not even join me in bed last night. I get dressed and ready for the day and make my way downstairs. I look outside and notice that the car is still parked in the driveway. Is he in the house still? I look around for him and find him asleep on the couch in the sitting room. Why did he not just come up to bed. I gently shake him awake.

"Rumple." I say softly. "My love, it is time to get up or go up to bed." He slowly opens his eyes and sleepily looks at me.

"I didn't want to disturb you." He must be talking about last night.

"Well, I am heading to the bakery now. You can get some proper rest in a bed now." I smile at him. As he sits up I head towards the front door. "Maybe I will pick up some hair dye and change this awful color later today." It is still a blue-green color that matches my cloak from the Enchanted Forest. "Maybe I will also make an appointment to get my hair cut short. It is just such a hassle to take care of without magic."

"If you're having so much trouble taking care of it, I could help you." I look at him over my shoulder and chuckle.

"I do not need you to take care of me and my problems. I need you to try and get Mary Margaret out of this mess." I see him nod as I walk out of the house and jog to the bakery. I get the double order done in record time and bring it over to diner. I get paid and head back to the bakery and make all the cookies and other sweets for the display case. Not to long after the display is filled, the bell over my door sounds. I look up and see the wooden man walk up to the counter. "I am open, as I promised." I smile at him.

"Yes you are." He smiles back. "You got the goods?" I chuckle at his words.

"It is not drugs. They are just cookies." I say as I place a couple sugar cookies in a to go bag.

"They may not be an actual drug, but they are my choice of drug." He places money on the counter as I hand him the bag. "And I have not had a single sweet in this world better than yours."

"That is sweet of you, but I am sure I am not the best." I comment. "I think that you are just biased." We both chuckle as he heads to the door.

"Alright, I have to head back to my room if you need me." He states.

"I will keep that in mind."

"See you later Miss. Birdie." He waves to me as he heads out the door.

"See you later, kid." I say in return. He leaves and I am left alone again. I close up shop around two in the afternoon and head to the convenience store. I walk in and walk straight to the hair dye section. I look between the colors offered in the boxes. I cannot decide what to get so I call someone for a second opinion. It rings twice before he picks up.

"Hello, my little song bird, what can I do for you?" He asks.

"I am trying to decide what color hair dye to get." I answer with a smile. I hear him chuckle on the other end of the line. "Should I go with my natural color? Darker? Lighter? There are so many different options."

"I think you should go back to your natural hair color, but I think you should wait until our plans are finished. There's no need to ruin your lovely hair on a quick decision." He does have a point. Once I have my magic back I can have whatever hair I want.

"Alright, I guess I can hold off a bit longer." I say. "While I am here, do you want any snacks? Chips? Soda?" I ask. I mean, I am already in the store. I might as well buy something.

"Get whatever you think I'll like. I'll meet you at home." He says.

"Okay, I will see you then." I say as I hang up. I grab a couple bags of chips and a couple bottles of soda, pay for them, and head home. I arrive before Rumple and decide to clean up a bit. I should really pay more attention to the sounds and movements around me, because I did not even hear the front door open before I hear someone talking to me.

"I keep telling you that you are not my maid anymore." He says from the door to the room I am working in.

"It comforts me sometimes." I say after I turn to look at him.

"It's okay, my dear. I understand." He says as he moves to the kitchen.

"Any news on the case?" I ask as I follow him.

"Not much. Just that the trial starts tomorrow." He answers. He picks up one of the bags of chips and soda bottles, and he makes his way to the dining room. I do the same. We sit down across from each other and snack on the chips.

"What do you think the chances of Mary Margaret getting out of this are?" I ask him. I really want to know if my friend is going to be locked away for a long time or go free.

"It doesn't look good." He answers simply.

"Can you give Mary Margaret a note for me?" He looks up from the table at me. "I will not be able to be there before they bring her to the courthouse."

"Of course, my love." He softly smiles. I get up right away and find a piece of parchment and a pen. I write a short note that reads:

 _M &M,_

 _I wish you luck in the trial. I will not be able to see you as the trial commences._

 _I am just starting to get back in the swing of my daily schedule. I do promise_

 _you that no matter which way this case goes, I will always be your friend and I_

 _will always bring you cookies._

 _I love you dearly,_

 _Your friend,_

 _Ava_

I hand the note to Rumple, who tucks it in his suit jacket pocket. I finish my chips and soda, throw away the empty bag and bottle, kiss Rumple good night and head to bed. As I am slowly walking up the stairs I call back to him.

"If you do not join me in bed tonight I will be so upset, that I might just move back to my apartment." I threaten him. I hear him chuckle.

"Count on me joining you, my love." I smile at his answer and go to bed. A couple hours after I fall asleep I am woken up. It is Rumple joining me in bed. I smile to myself as he spoons me. Yes. This is the best feeling in the world. To be held by someone who loves you. I cannot imagine a better feeling as I fall back into dreamland.

A/N: I hope you liked this chapter. I have to get Ava back to a regular schedule. Ha! That never happens in the OUaT universe. I am really liking the path I'm going with this story, and I already have a lot planned out for the future. Please review. I love knowing what you are thinking about what is going on.


	29. Gone Overnight

A/N: Here is another flashback chapter. I hope you guys enjoy.

Ava POV Enchanted Forest

Ahh. The morning air is refreshing as I walk through the village. I helped the muffin man get the bakery ready, but he told me to take the rest of the day off. I think he is scared though. Not of me, but of the person I spend a great deal of time with. I take care of Baelfire most of the time, and everyone in town is terrified of his father. Ever since he became The Dark One people have been treating him and Bae differently. Rumple is extremely protective of Bae, so if any little thing happens to the boy it is blown way out of proportion.

I am on my way to the little hut on the outskirts of town with a basket filled with bread loaves. The streets are bustling with people peddling their goods. I look farther up the road and see a cart, being pulled by a donkey, filled with cages of chickens. A man pulls the donkey, leading it down the road. Suddenly, a boy follows a ball into the path of the donkey driven cart. The man stops the donkey from walking over the boy. The abrupt stop causes a basket to fall to the ground.

"Hey!" The man yells at the boy. He does not say anything to the man. He just gets up and quickly tries to get out of the way. "Hey!" I get closer and realize who the boy is, Baelfire. "What are you doing in the middle of the road, boy?" I start to run towards the boy. I hope to get there and diffuse the situation before Rumple even knows what has happened.

"I'm sorry. I-I" I walk up next to Bae and pull him into a hug. I look to the man and he suddenly realizes whom he is talking to. I hate that look.

"Hey, I know you." The man says to the boy. Terror envelops his face as he holds his hands out, hoping it would keep us from calling The Dark One. I do the same with my free hand. My other arm is around Bae.

"It is fine, sir. Everything is fine." His eyes meet mine.

"You want a chicken or some eggs?" He asks me frantically.

"It is okay." I say as I shake my head. "We should probably just-" I can tell that he is here before I finish my words, but he decides to interrupt me.

"What's going on?" I guess I was too slow. I hope nothing bad happens to this man. To be honest, it _was_ Bea who went out in front of the cart. I pull Bae tighter into me.

"It's nothing." The man tries to say. "It was my fault. I wasn't looking where I was going." The tension is palpable. "But, he says he's fine." Bae pulls away from me and walks around me, towards Rumple.

"I'm fine Papa." The boy tries to say. The boy does not want to cause any trouble. "Really."

"Are you sure, Bae?" He asks his son.

"Yes. I'm fine." The boy answers. There was a short pause and I keep hoping Rumple chooses not to act out today.

"Well, I suppose it won't happen again." Rumple says to the man.

"It won't." Bae answers quickly.

"No." The cart driver answers, shaking his head. "No."

"What's that?" Rumple asks. I am confused, so I turn around and see that Rumple is pointing down towards Bae's knee. Oh no. It seems that when Bae tripped in front of the cart he skinned his knee, and it is currently bleeding. How had I not noticed that before?

"It's nothing." Bae says, stepping away from Rumple. I walk over and turn Bae towards me. I quickly glare at Rumple before I get a better look at Bae's injury.

"It does not look severe." I say.

"See, it's nothing." The cart driver tried to defend himself once again. He should have just stayed quiet.

"A ta ta ta ta." Rumple says with his hand up, making the man stop and pay attention. "Don't bother." A purple light is emitted from his palm.

"Stop this." I say to Rumple. He does not even look to me. "Stop this, please." But it was too late the man was engulfed in a dark purple smoke. That smoke clears and it reveals that the man has been turned into a snail. I sigh in frustration and turn away as Rumple walks toward the poor man turned creature.

"No, Papa. No" Bae tries to stop him. "Please, Papa. Don't." Rumple continues on his path towards the snail. "No, Papa!" Still no answer from his father. "Papa!" A sickening squishing sound is heard, and the townsfolk gathered around gasp and walk or run away as fast as they can. Soon, I feel Bae run into me and hug me from the side. I turn towards the boy and engulf him in a hug. I turn my head to look at The Dark One. He looks back at me with little to no emotion.

"Alright, Bae. Let us go home and check out that knee of yours." I say as I rub his back. I lead him back to Rumple and Bae's hut. We walk in and I greet Anora. She cleans up the small area and does some of the other chores for Rumple. Rumple is the next one to address her as I set the basket of bread, which I brought with me, on the table that Bae was now sitting at.

"Thank you, Anora. You can fetch us supper now, dearie." He tells her. She does as he asks of her and leaves the hut. Rumple joins us at the table. I go around to Bae's side of the table and wait for him to show me his injury. He stands from his seat and steps on the chair so I can see his knee clearer. He pulls his pant leg up and out of the way.

"It is just a couple scrapes." I say as I go get a salve to help it heal. As I come back with the salve Bae starts to voice his concerns with his father about his actions today.

"You killed that man." The boy says before wincing at the sting of the salve.

"Well, you were hurt." I turn away and put the salve back in the cabinet that I got it from. "Speaking of which." I turn around and he is using magic to heal the wound on Bae's. Frustration takes over. Why do I even try? But something happens that I did not expect.

"No." Bae pushes his father's hand away. "I don't want magic." Rumple looks a bit shocked. "It's just a scrape, and Ava already started treating it." He puts his pant leg down and sits down on the bench.

"This will heal it." Rumple insists, his hand still glowing purple with his magic.

"So can salve and bandages." I pipe up. He looks to me and the purple glow disappears.

"Very well." He says. The three of us sit at the table and Bae continues to talk to Rumple about how he has changed.

"You're different now." The boy starts. "You see it don't you?" Rumple does not say anything. "You hurt people all the time. Even Ava, once." I look away and bring my hand up to my right cheek. There has only been one time that he has physically hurt me. It was a surprise, really. It was the day after he became The Dark One. I guess something I said did not sit right with him, so he hit me. I was shocked at the time, but it never deterred me from speaking my mind with him.

"That was a mistake, Bae. And I have apologized many times for that." It is true. On a daily basis he says he did not mean to do what he did. "And I created a truce in the Ogre's War. I walked into the field of battle and I made it stop." That was one of the things I was very happy for. My living siblings were returned to me, and I felt like someone had brought me back to life. "I led the children home. Surely a man who saved a thousand lives-"

"A man who saved a thousand lives could be done with it." Bae interrupts. "You can stop doing things."

"I can't." Rumple says. I rub my face in frustration. Then my forehead rests in the palms of my hands, elbows resting on the table in front of me. "I need more power." Why? "So I can protect you." The man says as he points to his son. "And her." He adds, pointing to me.

"We wouldn't need protecting if you didn't have power." The boy says. He has a point.

"Well, I can't get rid of it." Rumple defends.

"Have you tried?" I ask him. He looks at me and his expression softens a bit.

"Tried." He says in almost a whisper. I assume he was trying to think about my question. He presents The Dark One's dagger to the both of us. "Someone kills me with this, then they gain the power." I stare at the horrible weapon that changed the man in front of me, his name etched on the blade. "Now you know that. Both of you do." It is true. "Is that what you want?"

"That's not what we want." I say quickly.

"I just think there might be other ways to get rid of the power." Bae adds. Suddenly the door of the hut opens and Anora walks back in with a hot pot in her hands. "Have you looked for-" All of us look towards the girl. We stop talking and Rumple hides the dagger away in his cloak.

"Well, you look for other ways, Bae." Rumple says as Anora walks around the table to set up the pot to serve us. "But, don't get your hopes up." He shoos the girl away as I stand up and begin to distribute the food in the pot to three bowls.

"Papa?" Bae starts. "If I find a way for you to get rid of the power, a way that doesn't kill you or hurt us," The boy gestures to himself and I. "Would you do it?" I set a bowl of the stew in front of Rumple as he answers.

"It's not possible."

"That's not an answer to his question, Rumple." I say sternly. "The question was: ' _would you do it'_ not ' _is it possible'_." I set a second bowl of the stew in front of the boy.

"Don't you miss how it was?" Bae adds.

"Are you really that unhappy, Bae?" I can tell he is becoming just as frustrated as the boy and I are. Good. I set my bowl down and move the pot before sitting next to the boy on his side of the table. "I can conjure anything you desire." Is that supposed to be impressive? We just want it to be the way it was. We do not want things. We want Rumple back the way he was. "Name it." He says to Bae. "What do you want?"

"I want my father." The boy answers simply. I want the same thing. The man who was able to help me through the many losses of my life. The man who was able to help me back to my feet. The man who raised his son by himself. The man who tried hard to live a good life even though everyone believed him a coward. I want the coward back. The humble man who just wished to live his life and raise his son.

"All I want is your happiness, Bae." That might be true, but it does not seem that way. "If you find a way, I'll do it." He finally answers the boy's original question. A smile makes it to my face as I begin to eat the stew in front of me.

"Good." Bae says. The boy then holds out his hand towards his father. Rumple reaches across the table and shakes the boy's hand. "A deal is struck."

"Struck." Rumple agrees. We all finish our stew and I leave to make sure that my siblings are taken care of. The next day, I decide to bring my siblings into the woods to play. They brought wooden swords and picked up some sticks. The boys began to spar with each other. Moraine and I sit on the hill and watch the boys play. Suddenly, the boys scatter.

"Where are they going?" I ask.

"I think Baelfire scared them off." Moraine answers.

"What?" I look down the hill and see the boy sitting by himself. He looks so deflated. "Hmm." I look around and notice that Rumple is walking up the hill towards a small hut there. "Moraine, go talk to him. I will be right back." She nods and heads toward the boy. I follow Rumple towards the hut. I see him enter and exit quickly. He stops when he sees me standing before him. "What were you doing in there?" He does not answer me. I look him over. I see dark stains on his boots with a reddish hue. "Who's dwelling is that?" I am becoming frantic and upset.

"She heard us talking about the dagger." He answers. Oh my Gods. I step back, trying to comprehend this information. "I had to." I try to catch my breath before speaking.

"How could you?" I am saddened by his actions. "It is not like she is able to tell anyone. She could not speak, Rumple." I shake my head and turn to walk away. He tries to say something else, but I stop and turn to interrupt him. "No! No excuses!" I point at him. I turn and walk away again. As I get closer to Bae and Moraine I speak up. "Moraine." I call out. She turns to me. "It is time to go home."

"Is something wrong?" She asks me.

"Yes, but it is none of your concern." I answer her.

"What's wrong?" Bae asks me. I look to the boy with sad eyes.

"Ask your father, Bae." And with that I walk away, following Moraine back to our home. Later that night a frantic knock is heard on the door.

"Ava!" Why is Rumple here? "Ava! I need your help!" I slowly walk towards the door to answer it. No. I am done with him. There is no saving the man behind The Dark One. I stop in my tracks and say nothing. If you are wondering why he is not bursting through the door, it is because we made an agreement that he would respect my privacy, especially if I did not want to see him. "Please! I know you are right on the other side of this door. Bae's gone, and I need to get him back!" That made me perk up, but the anger in me was so blinding.

"Then why do you not just leave and go find him, oh powerful Dark One?" I ask mockingly. He _is_ The Dark One. He should be able to find Bae by himself. Why would he need my help? There is a long pause before I hear him sob. Is he playing me? Is he trying to get me to open the door? I have not heard him cry in a long time. It was even a rare occurrence before he became The Dark One. The sound was able to pull tears to my eyes, but I cannot back down. I cannot give in. I need to stand by my word.

"I'm so sorry, Ava." He says. "I'm so sorry." His whimpering continues but it gets gradually farther away. He is finally gone when I sink to the ground and begin to sob and let out my emotions. What if something actually happened to Baelfire? What could possibly take Bae so far away that Rumple could not get him back? I stay awake until morning. My siblings, including Moraine, crowd around me. They bombard me with questions, but I do not answer. Their presence just tells me that it is morning.

I stand up and rush out the door. I have to make sure they are okay. I have to make sure that Bae is safe. I run to their hut on the outskirts of town. I stop outside their door and notice the silence. They should be up and moving at this time. The silence is eerie. I hold my hand out, hovering over the door handle. I do not want to see what I now know is on the other side of this door, that there is no one there, that both of them have left me, that I am on my own once again. Sure I have my brothers and sister, but Rumple and Bae grounded me when I felt like I could not do something. They were support, and now I do not know if they will ever come back in my life.

I open the door and it is exactly what I thought. They are gone. Why did I not open the door last night? Rumple always helped me when I needed it. Why did I not help him when he needed me? I drop to my knees and sob into my hands. I do not know how long I sat there before I feel a hand on my shoulder. I look up and notice The Muffin Man, my boss, standing there with a look of pity on his face. My siblings must have told him about my odd behavior this morning. He helps me to my feet and pulls me into a hug. I continue to shed tears as I try to bury myself in his chest. How am I going to pull myself together, now?

A/N: I hope you guys liked this chapter. Let me know what you think of the story so far.


	30. The Return

A/N: Here is another chapter. I finally received another review on this story. I got so excited. The review was for an earlier chapter, but I get so excited when people comment on my work. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

My alarm wakes me up and Rumple is still sleeping. Since Kathryne has been found, he does not need to be Mary Margaret's defense attorney anymore. That means he does not stay up late or wake up early, and I get more time with him. I turn off my alarm, get ready for the day, and kiss him on the forehead before heading into town. I am able to get the order for the diner finished quickly, and when I get back to the store I make some cookies and a few cupcakes. I do not know why I made them. They are just going to sit in there all day. About an hour later, I get my first customers.

"Miss Ava!" Henry's excited voice calls as the bell over my door sounds.

"You do not have to call out so loud, kid. I am the only person in this small bakery space." I chuckle as I turn to the boy. I notice then that he is not alone. August is with him, and he looks to be in pain. "Are you okay August?" I ask in concern.

"Oh yeah, just the shin splints again." He answers. I nod, understanding what he was talking about.

"Well, what can I do for you boys?" I ask, leaning on the counter.

"I will have a couple sugar cookies, and Henry can get whatever he wants. I'm paying." I smile and glance down at the boy. I already know what the kid wants so I ring them up for two sugar cookies and one chocolate cupcake.

"Not that I am complaining," I start as I bag up the treats. "But is it not a bit early for cookies and cupcakes?" The boys smile in response.

"We're gonna need all the energy we can get." Henry says. "We are doing something for Operation Cobra today."

"Ahh. So, what are you two doing for Operation Cobra?" I ask. The boy looks to August, and visa versa.

"We can't tell you, Miss Ava." Henry says. I squint my eyes at the boy.

"And why is that?"

"It's super top secret, Miss Birdie." August answers. I nod to him as he asks me a question. "Do you know when the pawn shop opens?" I squint my eyes again. Why does he want to know that?

"Around nine o'clock, I think. Why?"

"Just asking." August answers vaguely. "We might need to see if there is anything in the shop that would help us." What does August want from the shop? What is he looking for?

"Alright, well, good luck with whatever you are doing today." I wave to them as they walk out the door. I hear Henry ask a question before the door closes behind them.

"Hey, why did you call her Miss Birdie?" I smile at the kid's question. I cannot wait until this curse is broken. Then I do not have to hide that I know everything, and we will be that much closer to finding Bae.

About an hour later, it is nine o'clock. I decide to visit Rumple, bringing something only slightly sweet. Bae used to call them sweet breads. It was just a biscuit that I added more sugar to. Then I would sprinkle a bit of sugar over the top. Both Rumple and Bae loved the sweet treat back in the Enchanted Forest. As I shut the bakery door and turn around, I see Henry making his way to the front of the pawnshop and August heading for the back door. What are they doing? I walk up to the shop after Henry had started to talk to Rumple. The bell over the door sounds as I open the door and enter. Both Henry and Rumple turn to me.

"Miss Ava, what are you doing here?" Henry says, almost seeming frantic.

"I'm just bringing Mr. Gold something sweet to snack on." I smile as I hand the container of sweet breads. He looks at the sweets and his face seems to light up.

"Why thank you, Ava. This is really nice. You didn't have to do that." Rumple says placing the container down on a nearby counter display case. "Now, Henry, what did you wish to get Miss Blanchard as a gift?"

"I'm not really sure. It should be something special." The boy then turns to me. "What do you think she would like?" He asks me. I am taken aback by his question. "You are good friends with her, aren't you, Miss Ava?"

"Yes, but I think you should choose something on your own." I tell him. "If I pick it out, she will know that I told you to get it for her." The boy nods at my words and walks over to a set of bells.

"Are these bells?" He asks as he rings one of them. What sort of question is that? He is a smart kid. I look at Rumple and he gives me the same look back. "Cool."

"How much money is in your budget for this gift Henry?" Rumple asks. "Many of the objects in my shop are probably out of your price range." Suddenly I get an idea.

"How about I make a big batch of cookies and we can deliver them to her together?" I ask the boy. I do not think that he was actually looking to purchase anything. I think he was trying to distract Rumple from August looking through the back office of the shop. Henry paused, thinking about something, before answering.

"Yeah, sounds great." He answers. I place my keys in his hand.

"Go on ahead. I will catch up in a minute." He nods before leaving the shop. I turn to Rumple and smile. "So, what do you think?"

"I think he's a distraction for someone going through my office. I can hear them back there." He has really sharp hearing even without magic I guess. I cannot hear anything.

"Clearly." I say with a smile, confirming what he knows. "But I meant the sweets." I chuckle gesturing to the container on the counter.

"Oh, yes," He smiles at me. "It's refreshing to receive such a familiar comfort food from you."

"I had some extra time this morning and wanted to see if I could still make them like I used to." I say back to him. "Let me know if it tastes off to you." I turn to exit. "If it does, I will tweak it for next time." I call back as I leave the shop.

"Will do, my dear." He calls to me in response. I head back to the bakery and Henry and I make a batch of cookies just for Mary Margaret. As we pull the sheet of cookies out of the oven to cool, my store phone rings. I walk over and answer it.

"Drury Lane Bakery." I greet the person on the other end of the line.

 _"Hey, Ava, it's Emma."_ It is so nice to hear from her. I feel like I have not talked to her or M &M in a while.

"Hey, Emma. What can I do for you?" I ask.

 _"Umm I was wondering if you could bring some cookies over to our apartment. I can pay you for it."_ I laugh at the last part.

"Sure. What are they for?"

 _"We're having a welcome home party for Mary Margaret."_ She answers. I smile at her words.

"What a coincidence." I say as I turn to Henry, sitting at one of the tables. "Henry and I were going to come over with a fresh batch for her. They just come out of the oven."

 _"Awesome."_ She says. _"I can still pay you, though."_

"Do not worry about it. It is free of charge for my best friend's party." I answer.

 _"Alright, I guess I'll see you and Henry soon, then?"_ She asks.

"Yeah, we will be there in less than twenty minutes."

 _"I guess I'll see you then."_

"See you then." I say as I hang up the phone. My cooling timer goes off and I get a container out to transport them to the party. Soon, all the ovens are turned off, and the door is locked with the 'CLOSED' sign showing. Henry and I start walking to the apartment as I send a text to Rumple about where I am off to. After putting my phone away I start up a conversation with Henry. "So, what was August looking for in Mr. Gold's back office at the Pawn Shop?"

"We told you that we couldn't tell you." He says smiling.

"It was worth a shot." I laugh out as we walk into the apartment building. I have a feeling I already know what August was looking for, but I do not know why he would need it. We walk up to the door in silence and Henry knocks on the door.

"Come in." comes Emma's voice from the other side. Henry opens the door and we walk in. I look around at the open space. The decorations are simple, but very nice. "Oh, awesome." Emma says as she grabs the container of cookies from my arms. "Thank you so much, Ava."

"Like I said, we were already going to bring some over. It was not a hassle at all." I smile at her and she goes to put the cookies on the counter by the punch bowl.

"Hey Ava, Henry." August says as he walks up to us.

"Hey. How did you know this party was happening?" I ask him.

"I ran into Emma in town and she told me about it." I nod in understanding. I look across the room and see Mary Margaret. As I excuse myself from August, and Henry to see her, I hear the boy ask August if the plan went as expected. I just hope they are careful if they are going to be trying to find one of Mr. Gold's most precious possessions.

"Ava." M&M says as she pulls me into a hug, which I return. "I'm so glad you're here." We pull apart and share a smile.

"Where else would I be?" I answer.

"I was so happy when Mr. Gold gave me your note." She says. "I totally understood, and I appreciate all of your support."

"You are my best friend, and I know you better than I know myself sometimes. I know you could not have done such a horrid thing." I reply. We stand by the punch bowl for a while, just talking about our personal lives since I have moved into Mr. Gold's house. Many more guests arrive, including Archie and some of the dwarves, and even my love. I do talk to Archie, and I feel as though both of us have moved on. We have not really talked in depth about what happened between us, but at least we can talk now. I missed talking to him. Emma joins us by the punch bowl as the door opens, revealing Granny. We all say hi to her as she walks in. Archie walks over and hands her a cup of punch as he takes the plate of sweets from her hands.

"All of these people, just to welcome me home?" Mary Margaret asks.

"You've got a lot of friends." Emma answers as she fills up some glasses with punch. "It's not just me and Ava." I chuckle at that. The glasses of punch are placed on a serving tray.

"It didn't feel like that yesterday." M&M says with a slightly confused face. She walks away, into the party with the tray in her hands. When my eyes wander around the room I see Henry staring into the other room. I follow his gaze and see Rumple by himself in the other room. I decide to go talk to him. I mean a lot of people are not very fond of him. They are not going to walk up and start a conversation with him.

"So," I say to get Rumple's attention. "What did he say he was looking for?" I ask him, leaning against the desk nearby.

"He said he was looking for a map of some sort." He replies as he places his glass of punch next to me on the desk. "But I don't think that is what he was really looking for."

"Probably not." I say as I look into the other room. Henry seems to be saying his goodbyes.

"He did purchase a bell for Henry to give Mary Margaret, though." I smile at Rumple's words. I watch as Henry picks up his bag and wave to me before Emma opens the front door. I see the expression on her face. I know she does not want Henry to leave, but because of Regina he must. I walk up to her, with Mr. Gold following, and notice David is walking away with Henry. "Hard to let him go, isn't it?" Rumple says to Emma. She turns to us.

"Henry, not David." I clarify jokingly.

"Yeah." She answers. "Pretty much the hardest thing." Rumple and I know the feeling. I had to stay away from Belle for most of her life, and Bae was sucked through a portal after Rumple let him go. It is the worst feeling a parent can experience. "Speaking of something of something we weren't talking about. Was it you?" She asks Rumple. My face scrunches up in confusion. What is she talking about?

"Was what me?" He asks.

"Did you make Kathryne suddenly materialize? 'Cuz it sure played that way to me." Emma asks clearly. "Was that the magic you were going to work? Because if you kidnapped that poor innocent woman just to let her go,"

"Are you proposing I'm working with Regina, or against her?" Rumple asks. My gaze switches between the two people in front of me. What exactly is going on here?

"I don't know. Maybe diagonally." Emma suggests.

"That is not even a thing." I pipe up as I grab my necklace. I need to calm my frustrations.

"Ava, dear, why don't you go socialize?" Rumple recommends as he grabs the hand clutching my necklace. I take a deep breath as he kisses the back of my hand. I walk away without saying anything to Emma.

"Are you okay, Ava?" I hear Archie ask me.

"Yeah, I am fine." I say. I look back at Emma and Rumple as they continue talking. "What were you guys talking about over here?" I ask the four people in front of me, Archie, Mary Margaret, Granny and Ruby.

"We were actually talking about the cookies you brought." Mary Margaret says.

"Yes, if someone told me you were making some I would have brought something different." Granny says with a chuckle. I smile at her comment and laugh a bit.

"I am sure your cookies are just as good as mine." I say as Ruby hands me a glass of punch.

"Are you kidding?" Ruby says. "Your baking blows everyone else's out of the water." Everyone smiles at that. I look over to see Rumple leaving the apartment. I wonder what he is doing. Gradually, the guests begin to leave, and soon it is just Emma, Mary Margaret, and I left. The sheriff breaks out the booze and I drink up a lot of it. I do not know what Rumple is planning, and I do not know what August could want with what I think he wants. There is still no magic. It would be useless.

"I think you've had enough of that." Emma says as she pulls the bottle of wine from me.

"Maybe you should stay here tonight." M&M suggests. "You'll be closer to the bakery in the morning, so you can wake up a bit later than usual." I nod, agreeing to the logic.

"I have to let Mr. Gold know." I giggle as I pull out my phone.

"Let me call him for you." Emma says with her hand out. I place my phone in her outstretched hand and she calls the number labeled Mr. Gold. "Hi, Mr. Gold, it's Emma." She starts. "I just wanted to let you know that Ava is drunk and wants to stay over." There was a pause as Emma listens to the man on the other end of the line. She rolls her eyes before handing the phone to me. "He wants to talk to you." I take the phone and hold it up to my ear.

"Hello, my love." I say dramatically into the receiver.

 _"Hello. I hear you want to stay there for the night."_ He says.

"Yesssss." I say stretching out the word. "It is much closer to the bakery," I slur. "And I know I will have the worst hangover ever."

 _"I guess that makes some sense."_ He answers. _"Hand the phone back to Emma, my dear."_

"Okay." I giggle and hand the phone back to Emma, as Rumple instructed. Mary Margaret smiles at me and begins to rub my back.

"Yes. I have cut her off, and I am trying to have her drink as much water as possible." There is another pause before Emma hangs up the phone. "I am sorry, Ava, but I don't know how you can love someone like him."

"I do not know." I say with a smile. "I just do." About an hour later, I begin to feel sleepy.

"Alright, miss baker." Mary Margaret says. "Time for you to get some sleep." She leads me to her own bed, takes off my shoes, and tucks me in. She leaves for a second, but comes back soon with a trashcan. "This is just in case you feel sick and can't make it to the bathroom." She says. I nod to her and she leaves, turning off the light. Quickly I slip into a deep sleep.

What fresh hell is this? I have not felt this type of pain in a while. My head is pounding, my own personal alarm. I open my eyes, but have to shut them quickly. It is too bright. Just the split second of light made the pain feel more intense. Once the pain dulls slightly I venture to open my eyes for a second time. Yes, success. I lay staring at the ceiling before I slowly sit up. So far so good. I gently swing my legs over the side of the bed and place my feet on the floor. I look around and see my boots on the floor by the foot of the bed. I reach for them and put them on. I pause and take a deep breath before standing up.

I head to Mary Margaret's bathroom-. Wait, Mary Margaret's bathroom? I must have become too drunk to go home, and I chose to stay here. Good choice. I find some ibuprofen in the medicine cabinet and swallow them with the help of some tap water. I would put my hair up now, but that would only make the pain worse. I quietly exit the apartment and make my way to the bakery. The order for the diner seems to take longer to finish, but it is finally done and boxed up. As I exit, the door decides to give me trouble.

"Miss Ava." The familiar sound of a woodworker's voice sounds behind me. "Let me get that door for you." I turn to him as I move out of the way.

"Thank you, Marco." I say, as he is able to close the door. "I have been a bit off today."

"It's no trouble." He smiles to me. "Would you like some help with those boxes?" He asks.

"Sure, if you could just grab the top two so I can see." The man removes the two boxes and I am finally able to see him. "Thank you."

"No problem, dear. Now, what is causing you to feel off today?" He asks as we start to walk down the street, towards the diner.

"I just drank too much last night. I woke up with a splitting headache, and it is only just now beginning to go away."

"Ah." He chuckles. "Well, I hope your day gets better Miss Ava." We walk into the diner and Marco sets the boxes he was carrying on the counter. He then waves goodbye to me, after I place the rest of the boxes down, and I wave back. Granny pays me for the order, and when I turn around I see August sitting at one of the booths with his mouth open in shock.

"Hey, Granny, I will take an order of pancakes. I will be sitting over there." I point to the table August is sitting at. She nods to me and I go sit down across from the man. "What is that face for?" I ask him.

"My father." He says simply.

"Wait, was that the first time you saw him here?" The man nods to me. "Wow. That is surprising. I guess that makes sense, though. He is never in one place for too long. He is the fix-it guy in town. He helped me with the bakery door the day after Emma came to town." Suddenly a small stack of pancakes is placed in front of me. I thank Ruby and she walks to some of the other tables.

"I want to confront him, but I don't know how I would do it without seeming crazy." That is quite the pickle. "How did Mr. Gold handle it?" He asks me.

"Well," I say after swallowing a bite of pancake. "Not good at all. He was spiteful and mean to people I was interested in. Sometimes he would ignore me altogether." I smile to myself. "And I would call him out on it every time. That was before I got my memories back. The only reason that happened was because of something I did before the curse." I whisper the last part.

"No offense, that's not really helpful." He chuckles.

"Maybe you can visit mother superior." I suggest. "The convent is not far from here." I watch as he thinks it over. I finish the food on my plate before he makes his decision.

"That's what I'm gonna do, then." He turns to wave down Ruby. She smiles and comes over. He hands her a fifty-dollar bill. "This is to pay for my food and hers." He gestures to me. "The rest you can keep as a tip." He winks at her and almost runs out of the diner.

"What's with him?" Ruby asks me as both of us follow him with our eyes.

"I have no clue." After the man drives away on his motorcycle I walk outside, on my way back to the bakery. I look across the street and notice that Mr. Gold is in his car, watching August closely. He soon begins to follow the man towards the convent. I do not know what is going on, but I will be talking to Rumple about it later. About a half an hour later the bell over my door rings. I turn to see August, and I smile at him. "Was Mother Superior any help?" I ask as I place a few sugar cookies on a plate and sit at one of the tables. I gesture for him to sit across from me.

"Maybe," He says as he sits down. "I don't know." He buries his face in his hands then sits back in his chair, letting his hands fall into his lap.

"I think that things should be changing soon." I say, suggesting that people might get their memories back sooner, rather than later. "I think you should wait just a bit longer before talking to Marco about your situation."

"But he's so close."

"But too far away at the same time." I point out. I think for a second as he picks up one of the cookies. "What if you go to him and say that you want to work for him?" I say. "You would have to work for free, though. He does not get a lot of money for the little jobs he does around town." I see the man perk up.

"You know what? Maybe I'll do that." He finishes off the cookie in his hand and stood up. He kisses me on the cheek quickly. He has never done that before. I gently touch the spot where he had kissed as he heads out the door. What am I going to do with that boy? I pick up the small plate and eat the second and last cookie before cleaning the plate. A minute goes by and the bell on my door sounds again. I look over and see Rumple.

"Well it is very nice to see you, my love." I greet him. "How was sleeping without me last night?" I try to joke. He does not react. "What is wrong?" I ask.

"That man." He says pointing out the door. "Does he seem familiar to you at all?" What is he trying to get me to say?

"Maybe a little." I answer as I wipe my wet hands on my apron to dry them. "Why?"

"I need to find out who he is." Why? "I think I know who he is, but I am not completely sure. I need to know. What is he here for? Does he want to kill me?" He seems to be a bit obsessive about this. He keeps pacing back and forth in my small bakery.

"Can you relax for a second, my love?" I place a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "If you pace any harder you are going to wear a hole in the floor." I see him take a deep breath and sit at the table that August and I were sitting at a few minutes ago. "Now, what makes you think that he wants to kill you?" He thinks about what he should tell me. "Do not leave anything out. If I am to help you, I need to know what you know about that man." I cannot tell him I already know who August really is. I need him to figure out who it is not.

"While everyone was at the party, I broke into his hotel room." He starts. "I found an illustration of the dagger. He wants to find it and finally get rid of the power for good. He wants to kill me for what I did." Now I know who Rumple believes August to be. I chuckle inwardly. If August had been Baelfire I would have told Rumple already. I would not have made a deal not to tell anyone.

"Maybe you should seek professional council." I suggest. "To ease your mind, at least a little bit." I place my hand over his.

"You want me to talk to the cricket?" He asks with disgust.

"Yes." I say sternly. "He is a great friend, and he gives great advice. Do not discredit him just because of the relationship I had with him." I stand up and walk behind the counter to make some more cookies.

"Alright." I hear him sigh in resignation. "I'll go visit the bug." He stands up and starts to walk towards the door.

"Do not call him that." I say. He pauses for a moment before leaving without saying anything. Sometimes he can be so frustrating. I walk to my phone and dial Archie's office.

 _"Hello?"_ His voice sounds on the other end of the line.

"Hey, Archie. I just wanted to let you know that Mr. Gold might be heading your way." I did not want him to be caught off guard.

 _"A-Alright, do you know why he's coming to me?"_ He seemed a little flustered.

"I am sorry, but I do not know." I feign ignorance.

 _"Thank you for the heads up, Ava."_ He says.

"No problem." We say our goodbyes and hang up. Before I know it, it is dark outside. I close up and look around the street. I do not see Rumple's car anywhere, so I try and call him. There is no answer, and it goes to voicemail. "Come on." I whisper to myself in frustration and call him one more time. It goes to voicemail again and I leave a message this time. "Mr. Gold, I just want to let you know that I am walking home, in the dark, by myself. Where are you? The next time I see you, you better have a good excuse." I hang up my cell phone and start storming home. Then I get a hunch and change direction.

I head to Rumple's cabin. He told me about it once. He told me where it was and that he took Belle's biological father there to beat him senseless. A smile tugs at the corners of my mouth as I think about that man being roughed up by Rumple. I walk up the driveway to the cabin and hear two people talking. I recognize both voices as Rumple and August. What is going on?

"Do I even look like him at all?" August asks.

"How do you know about this knife?" Rumple says through his teeth. I walk slightly into the forest surrounding the cabin. I see them, but neither of the men realize that I am here.

"I hear things."

"No one here knows about this knife." Rumple says as he holds out the Dark One's dagger to the other man in a threatening manner. August moves around him, and finally sees me. He does not react, though.

"No one here remembers." August says.

"And yet you do." Rumple does not stand down. "You're from there aren't you? From my world."

"The fact that you're asking the question means you know the answer." August points out. It is true. Rumple drops the hand holding the dagger, but I know that does not mean he will not use it in a heartbeat.

"Well, now that that's settled," Suddenly Rumple pushes August into the tree behind him. I grab my necklace and try to hold in my gasp. "How about my other question? Who told you about me and the knife." I see August glance at me over Rumple's shoulder before looking back at the man holding a knife to his throat.

"A little birdie." He says. I can tell Rumple did not like that answer.

"Why did you want it?" He asks. "If you know who I am, then you know who I am. The chances of you surviving this little encounter are pretty slim, so why take the risk?"

"Because I'll die anyway." August answers. Again I try to hold in a gasp. I feel tears well up in my eyes.

"What?" Rumple asks as he pulls back a little.

"I'm sick. I'm sick and I need magic." He replies. "I was gonna get the savior to believe, but that woman," He chuckles. "I don't think I'm gonna make it long enough to see that happen." I feel a sob work it's way up my throat as I sink to the ground. No. I cannot loose him again. I have lost too much. I cannot loose him. My eyes are so blurry with tears I cannot see a thing. I cannot hold back the sob I have been holding on to.

I do not even know how long I sit there crying before I feel myself being pulled into someone's chest. My cries of sorrow become louder. It had not registered to me, when I saw August's leg the other day, that he would eventually die from turning back to wood. He would turn to wood, and in this world there is no magic that would bring a wooden puppet to life. He would become just a pile of lumber in a human form.

I begin to hyperventilate. I cannot stop. I feel a hand rubbing my back. I think someone might be talking to me, but I cannot hear them, just my own sobs. Then, I black out.

A/N: Oh no! All the feels. I teared up a little. Did you? I am really liking this story so far. I would love to hear from you. What do you guys think of the path this story is on. Do you think there is something even more to Ava's power?


	31. The Stranger

A/N: Here is another chapter. I hope you guys enjoy.

I wake up in bed alone. I look around the room as I sit up. What happened? I think about what happened before I blacked out, and I start to get emotional again. I take a deep breath to calm myself down. I hear a pair of limping footsteps climbing the stairs. I wipe at my eyes to hide the fact that I was tearing up. Softly and slowly the door opens

"Well, good morning sleepy head." Rumple says as he walks in with a mug of coffee. I smile at him as he walks to my side of the bed.

"Good morning." I reply, my voice coming out shakier than expected. He hands me the mug and sits on the edge of the bed. I take a sip from the mug in my hands as he begins to speak.

"Ava, we need to talk about what happened last night." I nod at he continues. "After you fainted, August told me who he really is." I look down into the brown liquid in the mug in my hands. He rests a hand on my knee in support. "I don't know how much you saw, but I am truly sorry for what I did to the boy." I do not say anything. "I didn't know who he was. If I did-"

"I know." I interrupt him. I look into the eyes of the man in front of me as I begin to tear up again. "It was not that you threatened him. It was because he said that he was going to die if magic did not come back to Storybrooke soon." I shake my head as I set the mug down on my bedside table. "I found out who he was a few days ago, and he told me that he was turning back to wood." I wipe at my eyes to stop my tears from falling. "It just did not fully grasp, until last night, that without magic he would just turn into a lifeless puppet." Rumple gently rubs my leg, trying to comfort me.

"I guess we must get the magic to come about soon, then." He says. "There's no need to loose another loved one." I look up at him and smile. Yes. If magic comes to this town, then August will not die when he turns back to wood. He would be a living puppet. I look over at the clock on my bedside table and notice that I am late for opening the bakery. I jump out of bed and get dressed. "What are you doing?" Rumple asks me.

"I cannot go back to missing work." I say as I put my boots on. "I just got back on a schedule." I rush into the bathroom, brush my teeth and hair, and put my hair up in a ponytail. I leave the bathroom and kiss Rumple quickly before running downstairs. "If you need me today, you know where I will be." I call back up the stairs. I put on my jacket and run out the door and all the way to my bakery. I am running about three hours late, but I am able to finish the diner order quickly. I rush over to the diner with the order.

"So much for being back on your usual schedule, Ava." Ruby says with a smile. I set the boxes of baked goods on the counter, and I try to catch my breath as a smile makes it to my face.

"It seems no matter how much I get back on track, there is always something to knock me off my path." I chuckle out. Ruby's smile gets bigger as Granny comes over and pays me. I start to head towards the door when someone calls out to me.

"Miss Ava." I turn around to see Henry sitting at one of the booths. He waves for me to come over to him. As I walk closer to the boy I notice that he has his Once Upon A Time book open in front of him. I sit down across the table from the boy as I see the door to the diner open to reveal Emma. She walks over to us. "Perfect timing." The boy says to himself.

"Hey," Emma says. "What's the emergency?"

"Shhh." Henry shushes the woman with a finger places before his lips. "This is sensitive." He whispers.

"Then why are we at Granny's?" I ask him in a matching whisper. Emma nods slightly in agreement.

"I'm hungry." The boy answers simply. I chuckle at his answer.

"Why didn't we meet at Ava's bakery then?" Emma asks. "If she's gonna be in on the conversation anyway.

"I'm not in the mood for a cupcake right now." He says. I gasp in mock hurt.

"Not in the mood for one of my cupcakes? Nonsense." I say as the boy smiled at me. I relax my shoulders and look at the pages of the book that the boy has open.

"Now, back to business. Who else knows that we hide the book at the sheriff's station?" He asks, looking between Emma and I. I shake my head in response. I never told anyone about it. I just know that they hide it in a locked drawer.

"No one." Emma verbally answers. "Why?" She asks the boy.

"Someone changed it." The boy answers as he looks back at the pages in front of him. "There's a new story in it." He turns a page as I ask a question.

"Why would someone add a new story?"

"To tell us something we need to know about the curse." The boy answers me.

"And what would that be?" Emma asks. I look at the page the book is open to. There are no pictures, just words. I am too tired to try and reed it upside down.

"I don't now." The boy shrugs. "The story isn't finished."

"Why would someone go to so much trouble to add a new story, and then not bother finishing it?" Emma asks a great question. They are a bad writer to not finish what they started.

"That's what's weird." He says. "The story's about Pinocchio." I try not to react. Just from that bit of information I know exactly who added the story, but I cannot let them know. They need to find out on their own. "Everyone knows how that ends."

"Maybe that's why it was left out?" Emma points out.

"It is still bad form for a writer to leave a story unfinished." I say.

"And maybe there's more to it?" The boy makes a good point, and I know that is exactly what it is. The boy turns the page and I see an illustration of a tiny wooden raft on rough sea or ocean waters.

"Henry," Emma says. "You are gonna be late for school." She still does not believe what Henry is saying. "Let's go." She says as he gets up from the booth. Reluctantly, the boy packs up the book and follows his birth mother.

"Bye, Miss Ava." The boy waves to me as he walks away. I wave back and stand from the booth. I check the time and decide to visit with Rumple for a bit. I walk across the street to the pawnshop. As I enter, the bell over the door sounds. Rumple looks up from the man looking at the coo coo clock resting on the counter display case.

"Ah. Ava, my dear." He limps around the counter to greet me. "It's nice to see you. You look better than you did this morning." He says before kissing my cheek softly.

"Yes, well, I have had a lot of time to calm down. Baking is a stress reliever for me." I reply. He leads me around the counter, and now I am standing behind it with him. From this spot I can see who the man on the other side of the counter it. It is Marco who is checking out the clock. The clock must be broken. No more than a few seconds later the bell over the door rings once again. Rumple and I look up to see August. I snap my head to look at the man beside me with a stern look. I knew this meeting was going to happen eventually, but only when August was ready. Marco will not remember him. Mr. Gold should know how that feels.

"Mr. Booth, I'll be with you in a moment." Mr. Gold says. "On second thought, tell me, as one admirer of antiquities to another, you think it's worth my while having this clock repaired?" I look away from August and take a breath, as Marco turns around to look at the boy. There is a pause and I know that nothing and everything is going through August's mind at this point in time. "I'll take your silence as a yes then."

"You know, I'm very busy right now, and uh I'm just a one man shop." Marco says. "But, uh, I'll get to the clock as fast as I can."

"I wouldn't ask for anything more." Mr. Gold says to the man. Marco picks up the clock and walks past August to leave the shop.

"Good day." Marco tips his hat to the boy.

"How are you?" August asks in a whisper. It breaks my heart. As the door to the shop closes I turn to Mr. Gold.

"What is your problem?" He turns to me and does not look happy. "He was not ready for that, and you know it." I am just fuming.

"I'm just trying to be nice to the boy." He tries to defend to me.

"No. That was malicious." I say. "I know August probably did or said something to you last night, but nothing would equate to what you just did."

"Oh really?" He says. That proves my point. This meeting was meant to hurt August. "He let me believe that he was Bae." Mr. Gold thrust a pointer finger towards August.

"Oh please, he looks nothing like Bae." I watch his face change. "Have you forgotten what your own son looks like? The most recognizable difference is the eyes. Bae had dark eyes like you. His," I say pointing to the man. "Are bright blue." I pause to let that sink in. "I will be sleeping over Mary Margaret's tonight." I say as I start to storm out of the shop.

"Ava." He tries to call out to me. I stop abruptly and turn around, pointing to my love.

"No! There is nothing you could say to me right now that would change my mind." I turn back towards the door as I continue. "Have a nice night." I leave the through the front door and head to my bakery. How can I forgive him for this? He hurt someone I consider family. That is unacceptable. I know that I will forgive him eventually, but I need to be away from him for a while before I can do that.

The rest of the day goes by quickly. I close up shop around four and start walking to Mary Margaret's apartment. I look towards the pawnshop and see Mr. Gold standing inside the door. He is watching what I do. I cannot forgive him so quickly, so I harshly turn my head to look at my path to my friends dwelling. After walking up the stairs of the building, I knock on the apartment door and wait for an answer. It does not take long for the door to swing open.

"Ava." M&M greets me with a smile. "What are you doing here?" I think about how I am going to explain my reason for sleeping over.

"Um, Mr. Gold and I had a fight today, and I was wondering if I could stay here tonight." Her expression softens and steps out of the way, and she gestures for me to come in.

"Of course you can stay tonight." She says as she closes the door. "If it's not too much to ask, what was the argument about?"

"I would rather not say." I reply as I turn back to her.

"Okay, I don't want to pry." We both sit at the counter and sit in silence. I decide to break the silence.

"So, how was your first day back to work?" I ask her.

"Oh, it was wonderful." She answers with a huge smile on her face. That smile is so contagious. It even causes me to smile back at her. "The kids all said they missed me."

"That is great." I say. I look around the large open space and notice that someone is missing. "Where is Emma?" I ask her.

"She sent me a text saying that she would be home late, but I have no clue what she could be doing." M&M answers. The rest of the night we talk about other things that the children in her class did for her. They seemed like lovely children. It makes me think of all the children I have known. Thoughts of my siblings, Baelfire, Belle, and even Pinocchio swarm around in my mind. We eat some leftovers from the party and eventually go to bed. I sleep on the couch. I do not want to take her bed and have her be confused when she comes home.

I toss and turn, but I am unable to get to sleep. I start thinking about Rumple and what he did today. I take out my phone and think about apologizing. But, why should I apologize? I did nothing wrong. He did something that hurt August and I. If anything, he should apologize to me. I still want to start the communications between us, though. I write a text to him and send it.

 _"I am still mad at you, but I wanted to wish you good night, my love."_ A few minutes later I get a text back.

 _"I'm glad you contacted me. I've been trying to figure out a way to apologize to you about what happened today. I guess I'll just do it now. I am terribly sorry, and I don't know how I could ever make it up to you. I hope you can forgive me."_ That is the longest text I have received from him. I immediately send one back.

 _"Let us meet tomorrow to discuss this further. But right now I just hope you have sweet dreams."_ He answers back faster this time.

 _"I hope you have the sweetest dreams possible, my dear."_ I smile and breathe a sigh of relief. I place my phone down and try to get some sleep. This time it comes easily to me, and I am brought into dreamland.

A/N: So, did you guys like this chapter? We are so close to getting magic back. Only two more episodes in season 1. I am so excited to get this far. This is my longest Fanfiction story that I have ever started in my life. Some don't even make it to becoming published. I can't wait to read what you are thinking so far.


	32. An Apple Red as Blood

A/N: One more chapter closer to the end of this part of Ava and Rumple's story.

Ava POV

I wake up to my phone alarm. As I try to shut it off quickly, pain shoots through my spine and up my neck. I am getting too old. I guess centuries will do that to you. I finally reach my alarm and shut it off as I sit up. Standing, I rub at my neck and crack my back. I hope I never have to sleep on a couch again. Quietly I move around the silent apartment to get ready. I exit the dwelling with all my belongings and hurry over to the bakery. After I deliver the diner's order I walk over to the pawnshop. His car is parked out front, so he must be here. The bell over the door sounds as I enter. I see Mr. Gold standing behind the display case counter. He looks up and smiles at me.

"Ah, my dear Ava." He greets as he puts down the pen in his hand and begins to walk around the counter towards me. "How was your night?"

"I woke up with a crick in my neck, but other than that it was fine." I smile as he stands in front of me. "How was yours?"

"Restless." He replies simply. His expression changes to one of regret. "I am truly sorry for what I did to the boy. I was lashing out unnecessarily." He apologizes. I do not want to forgive him, but I cannot help but do just that.

"All is forgiven. But I will not forget about this." He nods in understanding and grabs my hand. He kisses the back of my hand, which causes me to smile. I look around at the papers on the counter tops. "What is it you are doing today?"

"I'm planning a trip." He answers turning to walk back behind the counter.

"To where?" This is the first I have heard of this trip.

"To find Bae of course." He replies. What? Does he think that the magic will come back soon?

"And how will you be doing that?" I am truly curious. This planet is huge. How will he be able to find one person in the sea of many?

"Once magic returns to Storybrooke, I will be able to find him. Then I will need to find a way to him. It is better to be prepared, isn't it?"

"I guess that does make sense." I say. "I hope you are planning to bring me with you to retrieve him." He looks at me with confusion etched on his face. "You were not planning to have me tag along with you? Tisk, tisk, my love." He still looks confused as I walk closer to the counter he is standing behind. "Do you not remember how you two left things? You are going to need me to calm him down and convince him to come with us." The man before me sighed in realization that I was right. Bae might not even think of coming back if it was just Rumple there to convince him. Bae and I had a great relationship before he left. If anyone were to convince the boy to come to Storybrooke, it would be me.

"I guess you're right." He looks down at the paper in front of him. "I will add you to the list of people to go."

"There is a list?" I smirk at that. "Who else was on this list you speak of?" He hands me the paper and I read it. "Emma is going? Did she say she was going to go?"

"No, but I still have that favor for her to pay back." I hand back the paper to the man.

"So you are going to make her go with you? Why?" Why would he need someone if he can find Bae with magic?

"The magic I plan to use is not exact. I'll know what city he resides in, but not his address. Miss Swan knows how to find people. It's what she used to do before she came here." That explanation does make sense to me, so I change the subject.

"Well, what are we doing for dinner tonight?" I ask him. I see a smile stretch across his face.

"It's up to you, my dear." I think about it for a minute.

"Alright, I will think about it. You can come over after when you close up today and I will tell you my decision then." I start thinking about it right away. Should I make something, or should we go to Granny's?

"I look forward to seeing you later, then." He smiles to me and I return it before I walk out. I sit in my bakery thinking about what I want to do for dinner with Rumple. I spaced out for goodness knows how long. I only snap out of it when the bell over my front door rings. I look towards the possible customer with a smile. Once I see who this person is my face drops.

"Hello, Mayor Mills. To what do I owe this lovely visit?" I ask her. Her evil smile grows as her eyes meet mine.

"I need you to make me a turnover." She demands. "An apple turnover. With this apple." She thrusts the apple towards me. I look at the fruit and am surprised to see that someone had already taken a bite from it.

"Are you sure you do not want a fresh apple. It looks like someone already nibbled on that one." I say.

"Just do it, little bird." She raises her voice a bit. I grab the fruit from her hand and begin doing as she said. I slice up the fruit and place the slices in a pot with spices and a bit of water. As that is being heated on the stove I create the flakey crust. I make the dough, roll it out on the counter and shape it. I finish with the crust just as the apple filling finishes. I put the apple filling in the crust, fold the crust over and place it in the oven. The entire time I am making this pastry, Mayor Mills is leaning against the counter. She is keeping a close eye on everything I do. We do not speak as the turnover cooks in the oven. The timer sounds and I take the pastry out to cool. I set the timer once more. Once that timer goes off I package it up for her and wait for a payment. She pays me without a word and leaves.

I am still trying to figure out why she wanted me to make this turnover for her. She should know how to make a turnover by herself. As I clean up the mess from making the pastry, without thinking, I eat one of the leftover apple slices. As soon as I swallowed the fruit I knew I had done something I should not have. I started to feel very tired. I tried to get to the door as my vision began to get fuzzy around the edges. No. I need to fight this. I need to get to the door. I need someone to see what is happening to me. With the final bit of my vision slipping away I see that my 'OPEN' sign was changed to 'CLOSED'.

This was Regina's doing. She knew what would happen. She hoped that I would eat at least some of the leftovers. She wants to hurt Rumple because the curse might be breaking soon. Who is that turnover for? Emma? Mary Margaret? Suddenly, I black out and fall to the floor. What will this mean? Will someone find me? Yes. Rumple will find me, at the very least. He was supposed to meet me before going to dinner.

Emma POV

I'm getting ready to leave Storybrooke. I visited Regina and we made a deal. I would be able to visit Henry whenever I want if I leave. I've already stayed longer than I should have. Before I left she gave me a turnover that she bought from Ava at the bakery. She said that she had Ava make it special for me as a peace offering. I plan to eat it before I leave, so I put it on a plate and let it sit on the counter as I begin to pack and call Henry over the walkie.

I finish packing and come back down the stairs to pack the final piece of clothing in my suitcase. Before I can get close there is a knock at the door. I answer the door and my heart drops a bit when I see Henry standing there. I knew he was coming; I just wanted more time to think about what I want to say to him.

"Hey. Emma." He says. "Everything okay?" He walks in and I close the door behind him. "You sounded strange over the walkie."

"Oh, um. No, I'm okay." I say as I pack my last item into my luggage. "Just, um." I am still trying to figure out how to tell him. I stand in front of the kid as I let out a breath. "Yesterday when I tried to take you away, you were right." I continue to look down at his face as I pause. I want to remember every little detail of his face. After all, I don't know when I will be able to come back and see him again. "I can't take you out of Storybrooke." I feel my emotions trying to make their way into the open. I try to hold them back as I continue. "But I can't stay either."

"What?" He asks me. I watch as his expression turns from optimism to concern.

"I have to go."

"Go? You mean leave Storybrooke?" I can hear the panic in his voice, and it kills me.

"Yeah." I answer. "I spoke to Regina and we made a deal. I'm still gonna be able to see you, just not every day."

"No! No you can't trust her." What is this kid doing to me? Why can't he see that this is going to happen whether he wants it to or not?

"I have to. It's my only choice. It's what's best for you, Henry. Every time I fight her, someone else gets hurt." I say quickly, trying to keep my emotions inside. I can feel them slipping, though. They are right on the edge, and

"No, no, no!" He says. "You're just scared. This happens to all heroes. It's just the low moment before you fight back." I can tell that he is also trying to hold back some of his emotions.

"Henry." I say as I crouch down to his level and lay my hands on each one of his shoulders. "This isn't a story." My voice betrays my frustration fear and sadness as I continue to speak. "This is reality. And things have to change." I feel my eyes becoming glassy as tears begin to form. "You can't skip school. You can't run away, and you can't believe in curses."

"You really don't believe?" He asks as he looks at me. And his expression pushes me just a bit further into being a blubbering mess.

"I," How am I going to say this without breaking his little heart? "This is how it has to be right now." I feel a tear finally escape down my cheek. "I made a deal, and I used my super power. She's telling the truth. She's gonna take really good care of you."

"Yes," He says harshly. "But she wants you dead."

"Come on, Henry." I made a deal with the woman, how could she want me dead after that?

"You're the only one that can stop her." He continues to insist. I stand up and cross my arms before replying.

"Stop her from what? All she's ever done is fight for you." He still doesn't look like he's getting it. "I just, got outta hand. I'm sorry." His hurt expression is making me second guess my decision to leave, but I can't go back on the deal I made with Regina. Suddenly, the kid nearly tackles me in a hug. I return it awkwardly.

"Where did you get that?" He says, continuing to hold onto me. I let him go and turn around to see what he's talking about. He runs towards the turnover resting on the counter.

"Regina gave it to me. She said she had Ava make it." He gets close to the pastry and his face lights up, but not with happiness. He is worried.

"It's apple." He says.

"So?"

"Ava doesn't make anything apple for a reason. You can't eat that. It's poison." He can't be serious. Although, now that I think about it, Ava never has anything with apples in it, like he says. It must be why Regina had to have it made special.

"What?"

"Don't you see? The deal. It was all a trick to get you to eat that." He says as he points to the turnover. "To get rid of the savior."

"Henry, come on. Why would she do that when I just told her I was gonna go?"

"Because as long as you're alive, you're a threat to the curse."

"Henry, you've gotta stop thinking like this." Nothing is going to change if he refuses to stop thinking at everyone is a storybook character.

"But it's the truth!" He raises his voice. "And you leaving isn't gonna change that." He shakes his head. I get an idea. If I eat a piece of this thing and nothing happens he will have to stop thinking this way.

"I'll prove it to you." I reach to rip a piece off the pastry.

"No." He tries to grab it away from me.

"Henry." I say as he walks across the room with it. "What are you doing?"

"I' sorry it had to come to this." He says. "You may not believe in the curse, or in me," How can he say that? "But I believe in you." With that he bites at the center of the turnover, where the apple filling is. I watch him with watery eyes as nothing happens.

"See?" I say. "You wanna have some ice cream with that, and then we can go back to talking about," I can't finish my sentence because the kid collapses onto the ground. I am in shock, hoping he's joking. "Henry?" He doesn't move. "Henry?" Still nothing. "Henry!?" I begin to panic as I crouch down by him. "You better not be playing around." I say as I pull out my phone to call an ambulance.

When I know they are on their way I call Ava's bakery. Maybe there is something explainable about what is happening. Regina did say that she had Ava make it special. I call a few times and get voicemail after it rings, every single time. Maybe she's with Mr. Gold? I call her cell phone and get nothing. Now I'm worried about her, so I call Mr. Gold directly. Finally someone answers my call.

 _"Miss Swan, to what do I owe this call?"_ He says in a calm manner.

"Is Ava with you?" I say frantically as I continue to figure out a way to wake Henry.

 _"No, why? Is there a problem?"_ He asks.

"Henry ate a turnover that Ava made and he just collapsed. I already called an ambulance for Henry, but I tried to contact Ava and she's not picking up any of her phones." There is a pause on the phone before he abruptly hangs up. I grunt in frustration as a knock comes at the door. I run to open it and EMTs rush in. I direct him to Henry's body on the floor. They take him out on a stretcher. I see one is on the phone, but I can't concentrate on anything but my son. I bag up the pastry and grab my jacket and phone. I follow the ambulance to the hospital.

Mr. Gold POV

As soon as I hang up the phone with Emma I call for an ambulance for Ava, and begin to walk as fast as I can over to the bakery. I know exactly what is happening. Regina, that witch, had Ava bake a sleeping curse into something fro Emma. Henry knew that it was bad and tried to show her that the curse was real, and he ate whatever it was. I get to the door and try to open it, but it's locked. Good thing I have a spare key. I look through the glass door to see an arm lying in view, the rest of the body attached to it is hidden by the counter. I finally get the door open and rush in.

"Ava!" I call out, hoping that the person on the ground isn't her. I get around the counter and see my dear Ava lying on the ground. "No, no, no, no, no." I kneel down and try to see if anything is wrong with her physically, but find only a small gash on her forehead. She must have hit it on the edge of the counter when she fell. I cradle her head and whisper optimistic words to her. "Everything will be okay, my love. This can be fixed."

Finally, the paramedics arrive and take her away. I can't go with her in the ambulance, but I will follow them soon. I look around her work space and see sliced apples covered in some spices. This only confirms my suspicion. Regina will pay for this. I don't take any of the apple slices with me. There is no way for any technology in this world to figure out what is wrong. The only thing that can fix this now, is magic. I just hope Henry and Ava can last until then. I lock up the bakery and quickly get in my car and head to the hospital.

A/N: I have been planning Ava falling under the sleeping curse since the beginning. What do you think? Will the curse be broken? What will Emma think when the baker shows up at the hospital in the same condition as her son? We are so close to the end of the first part of the story. I am so excited. This will be the first story I have ever finished. I would love to know what you think. I love reading your reviews.


	33. Hiding True Love

A/N: So close to finishing this story. I am so excited. I hope you guys are liking it so far.

Ava POV

"Why are we out here?" I ask Rumple from his shoulder. My feathers are a little ruffled from him waking me from a deep sleep. He gave me the vial of True Love, and had me turn into my avian form. He then magiced us to some random spot in the woods.

"I have a bit of business to attend to, and I wanted you to get out of the castle a little bit." He says to me.

"I suppose I have not been out and about in a while." I say. I hear rustling as Rumple sits on the large carcass of a fallen tree. I watch as a man runs around in circles a few times. I look closer to see that it is actually Prince Charming, the man in love with Snow White. Finally, Rumple speaks up.

"Lost are we?" He calls. It echoes slightly through the open area around us. The prince draws his sword as he turns around to look at us.

"What are you doing here?" He asks us as he tries to catch his breath.

"I'm just here to help." Rumple answers innocently. I squawk in laughter. Yes, he may be here to help, but it is only because there is something for him to gain from it.

"Well, no need. I'll be fine." He man answers as he turns away from us.

"No, I don't think so." Rumple says stopping in his tracks. "This is the infinite forest." He says gestures to the foliage around us. The prince still looks confused.

"There is no way out." I speak. The prince looks at me in confusion.

"Well, except, my way." My love says, bringing the man's attention back to him instead of me.

"I want nothing from you." The prince insists.

"Not even this?" Rumple holds up a lovely ring with a green stone in the setting.

"My mother's ring." The man's attention is finally in the right place. "It was just-" He looks down at a pouch attached to his belt. The ring must have been there before Rumple transported it to his own hand. "How did you get it?" Has he not met my dear Rumple before? I know he has. He should know that the Dark One is able to do many different things with magic. Why would magically transporting an object off of someone be a strange occurrence?

"The same way I get everything I want." Rumple replies as he slides off the downed tree. "Magic." He answers simply as he walks up to the charming man in front of us. "The same magic that allows me to do," He throws the ring up in the air, and the shiny objects lands back on his open hand. "This." The piece of jewelry begins to glow. "This ring is now enchanted. The closer you get to Snow White, the brighter it will glow." Rumple's hand closes around the ring. "Interested?" He asks the prince.

"Give it to me." The prince says as he tries to grab for it.

"Ah." Rumple pulls back from the prince. "It's not something for nothing, dearie." He says. "Time to make a deal." Rumple smiles and I squawk in response. I love when he is in the deal-making mood.

"No! No more deals!" The prince shouts as he draws his sword once again. He tries to slash at Rumple and I fly off of his shoulder. The prince swings at my love once again, but this time Rumple catches the blade in one hand. I continue to flap and hover as the attacker tries to slash at Rumple again. Do people never learn? Rumple disappears before the blade makes contact.

"Over here." Rumple calls from behind him. Now, my love has a sword. They begin to fight as I rest on a nearby branch. They looked to be pretty evenly matched. Suddenly, the prince manages to get in a small cut on Rumple's cheek. He just smiles and heals it quickly with his magic. The fight continues, and Rumple ends up gaining the upper hand. The prince falls defenseless to the ground. "Looking for this?" Rumple had the prince's sword pointed at its owner's own neck. "So brave, so gallant, so pointless. Bravery won't get you out of this forest, dearie. Magic will. Trust me, this is a deal you want to make. Because we both want the same thing."

"What's that?" the prince asks.

"Why, you and your true love to be together, of course." Rumple presents the ring on the end of his own finger. He lets the prince stand and motions for me to come from where I am perched. "The vial." His words tell me that I must transform to my human form. I do as I am asked and hand him the vial of the rare magic. I am wearing my hooded cloak so the prince cannot see my face.

My love holds up the vial I have given him. "Behold, the most powerful magic of all, True Love. The man reaches for the vial, but it is pulled away. "Ah. Careful, this is all I have left of it.

"What d'you know of true love?" The young man says as an attack. My brows knit together and angle down. How can he say that?

"He knows enough." I say, defending the love between Rumple and I. I also believe that he loved Bae's mother Milah, all those years ago.

"You." He says gesturing to Rumple and I. "You two are in love?"

"Yes, she is the flicker of light amongst all of my darkness." Rumple admits. The prince looks like he does not believe the Dark One's words. "The thing about true love is, it can slip through your fingers. It's the most powerful magic in the world, the only magic powerful enough to break any curse. It must be protected at all costs." I transform back into a bird and perch on my love's shoulder once again. "Why else do you think I keep her so close?" He gestures to me.

"I don't understand. What exactly is it you want me to do?" The prince asks.

"I want you to help me protect it." Rumple says as if the answer were obvious. Which it was. "By putting it in a safe place for me." He conjured a lovely decorated gold egg in his right hand. He opens the egg and places the vial inside before closing it.

"And where is that?"

"Inside the belly of a beast of course." He giggles as he tosses the egg to the prince.

"Why hide it?" The young man asks.

"Let's just say, I'm saving it for a rainy day." He giggles once again. Rumple points the man in the direction of Maleficent's castle. Once the prince heads on the suggested path I turn back to my human form.

"Do you really think he can do it?" I ask, pulling my hood down as I watch the man leave. "Maleficent is not going to just let him do that to her."

"He has to, my dear." He comes up behind me and wraps me in his arms. "My plan will fail if he fails." He ghosts his lips along my neck. "And my plans never fail." His words and closeness send a shiver down my spine. He giggles at my uncontrollable actions before placing a chaste kiss where my jaw meets my neck. He steps away unexpectedly, and I nearly fall to the ground. "Come along, dearie. We must wait for our hero to complete his task." We walk around the forest for a while, in silence. The scenery is so relaxing, and Rumple always makes me feel safe. A few hours pass and we come to a large body of water. "Ah. Right on time."

"What?" I ask. He points in the direction of a castle on a high cliff. It is Maleficent's castle, and one of the windows is smashed out. I then look to the surface of the water and see someone swimming towards the land we are standing on. I lift up my hood to hide my face as we wait for; whom I can only assume is the valiant Prince Charming. I set up a fire for him to dry off by once he gets to land.

"Impressive, dearie." Rumple greets the man as he walks up to us. "Very impressive indeed. Come warm yourself."

"I have done what you've asked." The soaking wet man says. "Return my ring to me."

"Of course, you're in a bit of a rush." Rumple replies. "How rude of me." He presents the ring. "With this, Prince Charming, you will find her." The waterlogged man takes the ring and it begins to glow. He walks past Rumple.

"Thank you." He says. He starts to walk past me, but I stop him.

"Something is not right." I say as he turns around. I snap my fingers once and a cloud of blue-green smoke envelopes the man. Once the smoke clears the prince is dressed the part. "Reds look good on you Mr. Charming." I say as he looks at what he is wearing. "Now you are ready for your big moment."

"Why do you two want us together?" He asks us. "What do you get out of it?"

"I'm a fan of true love, dearie." Rumple answers as I walk over to him. "And more importantly, what it creates." The prince runs to the horse behind him, and rides away in search of his true love. "Now, we keep an eye on everything as we wait for things to fall in place." Rumple says as he transports us back home.

"Well, I guess I will start cleaning while we wait." I say with a smile. Rumple returns my smile with a giggle. As I search for my cleaning tools, Rumple sits at his spinning wheel. The sound of the wheel is somehow comforting as I do the chores around the castle.

A/N: I already have the next chapter written, so I will be posting that shortly. I might do one more chapter after that, but I am not sure yet. I can't wait to read what you guys think of this story.


	34. A Land Without Magic

A/N: Woo hoo! The chapter of the final episode. Still not sure if I will do another chapter, but we shall see.

Emma POV

Regina just told me that everything Henry has believed and talked about was true. Magic is real. Mary Margaret and David are my parents, and she is the Evil Queen. She told me that she doesn't have any more magic in this world. That she used the last of it for the apple turnover, which made me think of Ava. It's possible that Henry could die if nothing is done to break the sleeping curse. She suggested that we ask Mr. Gold for help. That he is the only other person in town that knows about magic, and he goes by Rumplestiltskin.

We walk back into the hospital room as more commotion comes in. A second hospital bed is rushed into the room. I try to get a look of who this could be. Regina walks towards Henry's bed as I try to get closer to the other one. She has more tubes and wires coming out of her than Henry does. It has to be Ava, but why does she seem to be in worse shape than Henry? I look over to Regina, and I can tell that she has an expression of regret. I don't know if it's just for Henry or for both of them. I then look towards the door. Mr. Gold is standing there, glaring past me to Regina. I pull the woman away from Henry's bed and both of us head towards Mr. Gold.

"Is that the look of a believer?" He asks me.

"We need your help." I say with urgency.

"Indeed you do." He answers simply. "It seems quite the tragic ailment has befallen our young friend, and my dear Ava." He pointedly glared at Regina. "I told you magic comes with a price."

"Henry shouldn't have to pay it." Regina says.

"And Ava should?" He asks. "No, you should, but alas we are where we are." I am done with their arguing.

"Can you help us?" I say, getting back on track.

"Of course, but we can't discuss this here." He says.

"And leave Henry here alone?" Regina asks.

"They're in the best hands they can possibly be in, in this world." Mr. Gold points out. "And the only way to help _both_ of them is to go back to my shop to discuss the solution." With that he turns to leave, hoping Regina and I will follow. The woman next to me turns to look back at Henry's hospital bed.

"Come on. We have to fix this, and standing by his bedside hoping he'll wake up is not going to fix anything." I say harshly. I turn to follow Mr. Gold out to the parking lot, and soon after Regina does too. We all meet up at the shop. Mr. Gold arrived before Regina and I. "So can you really help us?" I ask the man behind the counter.

"As I said before, of course." He answers. "True love, Miss Swan. The only magic powerful enough to transcend realms and break any curse." This magic stuff is still so foreign to me. "Luckily for us, I happened to have bottled some."

"You did?" Regina pipes up from next to me.

"Oh yes." He answers as he continues to look at me. "From strands of your parent's hair, I made the most powerful potion in all the realms. So powerful that, when I created the Dark Curse, I placed a single drop on the parchment." He paused to bask in the memory. "Just a little safety valve. It was Ava's idea, really." Realization hits me.

"That's why I'm the savior. That's why I can break the curse." I say.

"Now you're getting it." He smirks at me.

"I don't care about breaking the curse. All I care about is saving Henry." I reply quickly. I need this conversation to hurry up and finish so I can get going.

"And I care about saving Ava. Did you see her at the hospital?" He asks me. "She's in worse shape than the boy. She's been under the sleeping curse for much longer." That's true. She looked awful. "But it is our lucky day. I didn't use all the potion. I saved some. For a rainy day."

"Well, it's storming like a bitch, where is it?" I ask in all seriousness.

"Where it is, isn't the problem." Mr. Gold says. "Getting it is what should worry you." What would cause this man to worry about how to retrieve it from where it is?

"Enough riddles." Regina says, getting a bit frustrated. "What do we do?" He turns to the woman.

"You do nothing." He says, pointing at her. "It has to be Miss Swan."

"He's my son. It should be me." Regina insists.

"All due respect, but it's her son." He says pointing to me. "And it has to be her. She's the product of magic. She must be the one to find it."

"I can do it." I say, if just to stop their petty bickering.

"Don't trust him." Regina insists.

"Why would he be lying to us? If I don't do this both Henry and Ava could die." I bite back. "Why would he go through all of this trouble if it wouldn't at least help Ava?" Regina stepped back in surprise. "That woman is my friend. I want her to live just as much as I want Henry to." I turn back to the man behind the counter. "Where is this magic?" He turns to Regina.

"Tell me, your majesty, is our friend still in the basement?" I look at her in confusion. She knows where this is? Regina looks a bit surprised and disgusted.

"You twisted little imp." She says. "You hid it with her?" She seems a bit angry now.

"No, no, no, not with her." He says. "In her." What the heck are they talking about? "I knew you couldn't resist bringing her over." A smirk makes it to his face.

"Who is her?" I ask in true curiosity. I am so lost.

"Someone you should be prepared for." He says as he brings our attention to the case resting on the counter between us. "Where you're going, you're gonna need this." He opens the case and inside is a sword

"What is that?" I ask. There has to be something special about this sword.

"Your father's sword." He whispers. I take the sword and immediately leave with Regina. It's time to save Henry and Ava, and possibly this entire town.

Mr. Gold POV

Regina and Emma leave, and I begin to look around my shop for something that could help in any way. After about an hour I give up my search. There isn't anything that can help at this moment. I decide that the only thing I can do is sit by Ava's bedside and hope that everything will work out with Emma. It should work out. She is the savior. I walk up to the glass door and see that she has become stable enough to take many of the tubes out of her. I walk in and hear someone talking, or reading to be more specific. Mary Margaret was sat on Henry's bed with the Once Upon A Time book open in her lap. The curtain between Ava and Henry was pulled back, so the woman could be with both patients at the same time.

"And yes, she was beyond hope, beyond saving, this was her end. When Prince Charming saw his beloved Snow White in her glass coffin, he knew all that was left was to say goodbye." She paused and I thought she had stopped because of my entrance into the room. But she continued, so I sit down quietly in a chair beside Ava's bed. "He had to give her one last kiss, and when he did, true love proved more powerful than any curse." I look at my dear Ava as she lays there, seemingly sleeping. "A pulse of pure love shuddered out and engulfed the land, waking up Snow White, and bringing light to the darkness." She finally stops reading and closes the book. "Oh, Mr. Gold, I'm sorry. I didn't hear you come in." I turn my head to look at her.

"It's alright." I reply. "It was a nice story. I wish the ending was something that would truly happen." I look back to Ava.

"I feel like this is all my fault." The woman says, her voice cracking with emotion. "I gave Henry this book because I knew," She stops to gather herself. "I know life doesn't always have a happy ending." As she tries to continue, the machines Henry is connected to, begin to beep. Ava's machines soon follow. I stand and walk around the bed to look at Ava's as Mary Margaret looks at Henry's "What is that?" All I know is that it is not good. I go to the door and open it to call into the hallway.

"Dr. Whale!" I watch as the man and a crowd of nurses run to the room. I hold the door open for them.

"Dr. Whale, what is that?" Mary Margaret asks. They ignore her, of course.

"Nurse, get her out of here." The doctor directs as he tries to figure out what is wrong with Henry and Ava. "Now!" A woman brings her to me at the door. I put an arm around her shoulders as I guide her outside.

"Now, Miss Blanchard we need to let them do their job. I need to go get something for Ava and Henry. I will be back." I wave to her as I get in my car and head towards the clock tower. I open the door and see Regina manning the elevator. "Has she got it?" I ask her. She flinches a bit. I must have been able to sneak up on her, like I used to do.

"Yes, she's on her way up now." She keeps a watchful eye on me. We sit in silence as the elevator is brought all the way up to floor level. Emma steps out with the egg. It is the egg, which holds the vial of True Love.

"I see you've survived and retrieved it." I gesture to the egg in her hand.

"Yeah, now what?" She asks me. Suddenly, all three of our phones go off. That's not good. We all answer and are given horrible news. We all rush to the hospital. As we finally make it to the floor that their room is on, Dr. Whale and Mother Superior solemnly walk towards us.

"We did everything we could." Dr. Whale says to us. No. No, no, no. This is not how this ends.

"I'm sorry." The nun adds. "You're too late." I immediately push past the two and rush to Ava's bedside. She looks so peaceful, but this cannot be the end of her. It must not. I touch her hand and it's cold as ice. I feel tears prick at the corner of my eyes. I can't loose her. I just got her back. I bring her hand up to my lips.

"I've failed you, once again, my love." I take a breath to push down my emotions. "At least now I won't have another chance to fail you again." I know that there are others in the room, but I can't hold back the tears anymore. They spill over, and I let them fall. How could I let this happen? "I love you, now and forever, my little song bird." Out of nowhere, a wave of magic blows through the room. I look over at the blonde by Henry's bed. Suddenly, the boy sits up with a gasp.

"I love you too." The boy says. Everyone in the room is filled with joy. "You saved me."

"You did it." Regina points out the obvious as I look back to Ava's lifeless body and zone out. What do I do now? Should I try to wake her with a kiss? Will it work? What if it doesn't?

"Wake her up, Mr. Gold." I hear the boy say. "I've read your story with her. It should work." Now everyone is looking to me. I look to my dear Ava's face. I lean down and place the most love filled kiss I could muster to her lips. A lone tear escapes down my cheek as I pull away from her. A few seconds later, her eyes snap open and she sits up with a gasp. My heart skips a beat as the corner of my mouth lift up in a smile. She falls back down on the bed and catches her breath as she looks up at me.

"Hello handsome." She says. Oh, that voice. I thought I would never hear it again. Now tears of joy are making their way down my face. "Why are you crying, my love?" Her hand reaches up to wipe the streams making their way down my face.

"I thought I'd lost you." I tell her.

"Well, you do not have to worry about that anytime soon." She says with a smile. "You are stuck with me, now and forever." I rest my forehead against hers and kiss her softly. I've only felt this happy a few times in my long life.

"Eww. Alright, that's enough." Both of us look to the boy sitting on the other bed. When I finally start to understand what has happened I turn back to Ava.

"I'm so sorry, my love, but I need to leave." I say to her.

"I know." She replies.

"When you're discharged, you'll know where to find me." I kiss the back of her hand and walk around towards Emma. "We won't be needing that anymore." I say pointing to the egg. "I'll keep it in a safe place for now." Emma hands me the egg and I leave to my shop.

I arrive and immediately head to my office out back. I need to open this egg. My original use for this True Love potion still needs to be executed. I set the egg down on my desk and retrieve a small key from a drawer. I open the egg container and the magic of True Love is still safely inside. As I am examining the vial the bell on the front door of my shop rings. Ava can't have been released yet. I hide the vial away in my pocket and hide the egg container. Now that people have their memories back, some of them might want to get even with me.

"Excuse me." A feminine voice says. It sounds familiar somehow. "Are you Mr. Gold?" I turn around as I answer her.

"Yes I am, but I'm afraid the shop's closed." As I see the woman before me I freeze where I stand. No, it can't be.

"I was, uh, I was told t-to find you, and," Every second I have her in my eyesight my belief grows. But how can this be? "Tell you that Regina locked me up." That witch strikes again. I finally start to move closer to her. "Does, does that mean anything to you?" I stop before her and reach out a hand. As I touch the girl's shoulder I know that this is all really happening. This is no trick. She's really here.

"You're real." I whisper, more to myself. "You're alive." She looks at me with an extremely confused expression. "She did this to you."

"I was told you'd protect me." She says.

"Oh yes," I say as I pull her into a hug. "Yes, I'll protect you." She pulls away from my embrace as she asks a question.

"I-I'm sorry. D-do I know you?" She asks. Why doesn't she have her memories? Emma broke the curse. She should remember who she is, who I am, her own mother. Maybe it'll just take a little longer for her to get them back.

"No, but you will." I say. I will get Belle's memories back. Maybe I just need to jog her memory to get it started. "I need you to follow me somewhere." She looks skeptical. "I need to run an errand, and it might jog your memories." She nods to me and we're off.

During our journey, I talk about things that have happened in the past she should remember. I talk about her mother, that her biological father refused to let her mother see her, and how I helped retrieve her from her father. I walk ahead of her, as we get closer to our destination.

"Wait." She calls from behind me. I see the well in the distance.

"No, no, we're very close." I say as I continue to walk ahead.

"Rumplestiltskin. Wait." Her words make me pause. She only knows me as Mr. Gold, and I didn't tell her my real name yet. I slowly turn around towards her as she walks up to me. "I-I remember." A smile tugs at the corner of my mouth. She wraps her arms around my neck and I return the hug. "I'm so sorry." She cried into my shoulder.

"Yes, yes, and I'm sorry too, my dear." I say before pulling away from her.

"Where's mother?" She asks me.

"It's a bit of a long story. She's fine, but there'll be time for all of that later." I can't believe that she's really here. "First there's something I must do." I turn from her and walk towards the well at the top of the hill.

"W-what is this?" Belle asks me as we stand before the stone well.

"This is a very special place, Belle." I answer her. "The waters that run below," I point to the ground. "Are said to have the power to return that which one has lost." I walk up to the structure as I pull out the vial of True Love from my pocket. I open the vial and drop the entire tiny glass structure down the well to the waiting water below. Belle and I watch as purple smoke makes it's way up towards us. We step back as it ghosts the ground by our feet. It rushes past us into the forest in all directions. Finally, everything is falling into place.

Ava POV

I sit in the hospital bed next to Henry. We were told to stay until everything was figured out. I look around at the staff. They are trying to keep straight everything swirling around in their heads. I should know. It happened to me a week or two ago.

"Henry, what's going on here?" I hear Emma ask the boy. I look to them. "If the curse is broken, why didn't they go back?" I make eye contact with the boy over his mother's shoulder.

"I-I don't know." He answers. A clattering of metal objects on the tile floor is heard at the end of my bed. All of us look to see a nurse. She is staring out the window behind me.

"Are you okay?" Emma says, walking over to the woman. Henry's mother follows the nurse's gaze. Soon Henry does the same. They all look shocked and panicked. I finally build up the nerve to turn and look out the window. I see a purple smoke enveloping the town, building by building. "What is that?"

"Something bad." Henry answers. Maybe to them it is something bad, but to me it means that I am going to become whole once again. That smoke will return my magic along with Regina and Rumple's. I will finally be able to look the way I wish it. I will be able to change my hair color and length. After magic returns Rumple and I will be able to try and find Bae. A small smile tugs at my lips as the smoke seeps into the room.

A/N: And there it is. Magic has now been brought to Storybrooke. I hope the changes make sense to everyone. I wanted to do something a little different. Since Ava is so unlike him, it would make sense that some of her traits would rub off on him. I mean they have been together and known each other for so long, it had to happen. But, things still end in a similar way.

What do you think? Do you want another chapter?


	35. Author's Note

Hey everyone, I just wanted to post this last chapter to tell you that I have posted the first chapter of the sequel to this story. It is called: The Light In His Darkness. I hope you liked this story enough to read further about Ava and Rumple's relationship. I already know that many of you wanted me to write another chapter for the reunion of Ava and Belle. The first chapter will cover that. I'll have to change a bit of the dialogue during one of the scenes in the first episode of the second season because Rumple didn't double cross Emma with the potion. I hope that scene still makes sense, the way I wrote it. I guess you will have to tell me. I hope you end up liking it as much as you guys seem to like this story.


End file.
